Christian Marriage - A Liberating Theology

Hi, I'm Pastor Don Milton. Read my Christian Romance Novel, The Prince of Sumba right here o­nline. This End Times Christian Novel takes place in THE PHILIPPINES! Read about Ishmael David, the missionary, and his wife Mary. Follow them from their touch down in Cagayan de Oro to the mission fields of The Islamic City of Marawi. Witness the events in the lives of the Single Christian Ladies o­n Fire For The Lord. Click Below to start reading! Will you be part of the End Times? Read and find out. Every Single Christian Lady Must Read This Novel!

Are you in chains? Are you spiritually bound by cultural and personal biases that prevent you from enjoying the abundant life spoken of by Jesus? Maybe you have a burden to help others free themselves from such chains or maybe you'd just like to gain a deeper knowledge of the scriptures.

Christian Marriage - What is it?

God explains His relationship to us is through the metaphor of marriage and so we are, spiritually speaking, God's wives. It is therefore important for us to know what a husband should expect of a wife as well as what a wife should expect of a husband. This knowledge will not o­nly improve our relationship with the Lord but it will clarify what is expected of us in our own marriages.

Just as a Wife has Marital Rights, a Christian has Believer Rights.

I'll bet you've never heard that before. However, you've certainly heard the old tune "Standing o­n the promises of God." So it shouldn't be difficult to understand that being "married to God" has its benefits. God has indeed made promises to us. We are not, however, to be demanding of God that we receive what He has promised. We are to be thankful and in awe that He can indeed protect us and deliver us from all adversities that we cannot bear without His help.

All Believers Need to Know the Responsibilities of Being a Wife.

Christian marriage has an importance not just to those who are married but to all Christians. So what are the benefits and obligations of being "married" to God? To know that you must learn exactly how the Bible defines marriage and that is exactly what I will set out to teach here. Marriage is a relationship far beyond the fairy tale romances that many of us grew up hearing. There are far more freedoms and far more responsibilities than most of us were taught. To enter the members o­nly area and start learning your first lesson; The Proverbs 31:10 Believer, Click Here - It's FREE

It is neither contrary to the law of Nature, nor in any way to that of the Gentiles, but rather, most fitting, that if indeed we see the man by nature obtained thus: that he may for extended years, beget children, when by one woman such is not the case. Let us remember; God and Nature do nothing in vain. It is clear therefore that this is a talent to be a male, therefore entrusted with the task, not for the purpose of storing away in the earth, to make use of the language of Scripture, but in order to gain, and him to that end; to whom by God and nature, beggeting is meant to consecrate.

Pastor Don's Commentary:
The author advocates for polygamy through the Parable of the Talents. A man, the author points out, is like a talent, his posterity not to be buried but multiplied. And what does the Lord say to the servant who multiplies that which was given unto his care?

"Well done, [thou] good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."

Ecclesiastes 7:17 Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?

One of the best ways to deal with anything that distracts us from a right walk with the Lord is to attack the problem through Scripture and get so involved with the fantastic insights while we study that we are at least given some moments away from the distractions. We cannot allow ourselves to step over the line into obsession with a problem so that our obsession with the problem becomes greater than the problem itself. I have witnessed some whose frequent desire to repent keeps their mind so obsessed with a problem that they're crippled to walk away from the problem.

So we'll seek an answer to your situation while distracting you from your situation as a demonstration of what works for many others. I apologize in advance if any of what I'm saying here is too elementary but it's often the most simple explanations that make difficult problems easy to understand.

When it comes to women, do the same. Dwell on those that are worthy of your attention. Seek those that fit the above description. In most cases this means traveling to other countries to find them since America is a nation of harlots. It is the rare exception where marrying a harlot is prudent. A harlot is any woman who has had more men than she has had husbands. Repentant harlots in the Bible are not proud like those who fill America's churches. In America harlots often bear a title, "Single Mother" as a badge of honor as if their harlotry makes them better! Somehow they think that by not murdering their baby they are worthy of praise! I go through every day of my life not murdering my children! Killing a child by abortion or otherwise is worthy of condemnation but not killing, in other words, normal behavior, is not something unusual that we should praise, ah, except in America. Yes, in America, normal behavior has become so rare that we must praise it!

So to begin with, it's important to get a pure woman under your authority. This nation claims to call that marriage.

The Bible has no such word in the Hebrew nor does the blessed man woman relationship described in the Bible have anything to do with what the West calls "marriage." So it's clear that where it is used in the Greek (New Testament) that the Greek word "gameo" which is then translated in our Bibles to the English word "marriage" is not an exact translation of the Hebrew or Aramaic words originally used by the speaker. I'll repeat because for many this is a shock, the Hebrew language simply did not have the word marriage! It uses a number of other words and phrases that are translated to the English word marriage to describe the acceptable relationship between a man and a woman, but never a single word that could possibly be translated "marriage, marrying, married, marries, etc." In fact, the English word marriage is used only two times in the entire Old Testament and cannot be accurately translated to the English word marriage, not by any means!

Here are some examples:

Psalms 78:63 The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage.

The word translated "marriage" is actually "worthy of praise" as follows:

Psalms 78:63 The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not worthy of praise.

The word translated above as marriage but which should be translated as "worthy of praise" is in the pual tense.

Here is the Strong's Concordance translation for it.

c) (Pual)
1) to be praised, be made praiseworthy, be commended, be worthy of praise.

The other place the word marriage is used is:

Exodus 21:10 If he take him another [wife]; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.

Duty of marriage in today's terminology would be the woman's right to sexual intercourse. If we look at Strong's Concordance again, we see the word is cohabitation, or conjugal rights. Conjugal at the time the Bible was translated still meant what it did when it was first used in the 1500s. (con - with) (jugal - yoked.) In other words, man-woman yoked rights. No word "marriage" at all!

Let me clarify. IF by marriage you mean a God blessed joining of a man to a woman wherein he has the authority of a father over her, then yes, marriage is found in the Bible. However, if you mean the relationship between a man and a woman where the woman is not under the authority of her husband but is given free reign to make her own decisions, that is NOT marriage. That is contractual harlotry; the type of legal man-woman relationship most common in today's churches.

Knowledge of these things should be second nature for Christians but the original words have escaped their knowledge due to the repeated mistranslation of a handful of words.

If that weren't enough, the word wife occurs neither in the Hebrew nor the Greek. The English word wife has become a title that confers ungodly and harlot like rights to women who claim to be in a godly relationship but who in fact behave more like prostitutes that are paid to stick around than a godly helpmeet assigned to a man, her master, by God Himself.

The authority relationship described in the Bible can better be represented in a new English word, andromony, which I define as man support or husband support in accordance with what the Bible teaches on godly unions. The ungodly word matrimony breaks down to mother support and that does not represent any biblical concept of a blessed union. In fact, that is the Bible's man woman relationship turned on its head. The woman was created to be a help to the man. If she's the help, she's the support, therefore andromony. Consider also the God ordained power of a man over his woman.

Ephesians 5:24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so [let] the wives [be] to their own husbands in every thing.

We are certainly servants to Christ as members of the ecclesia, "church". In this world, our woman or women are to be servants to us as you will read in what follows.

1Peter 3:1-2 Likewise, ye wives, [be] in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation [coupled] with fear. (chaste conversation of the woman who fears her man, yes, fear)

Eph 6:5-7 Servants, be obedient to them that are [your] masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men.

We are likewise clearly the master of our women.

1Peter 3:6 Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him master: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.

To help further with this concept of a blessed relationship and in hopes this will also help you to have a godly understanding of the type of woman who belongs in your life, the type of woman you can dwell on, let's look at the following verses.

Numbers 30:3-9 If a woman also vow a vow unto the LORD, and bind herself by a bond, [being] in her father's house in her youth; And her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand. But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth; not any of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand: and the LORD shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her. And if she had at all an husband, when she vowed, or uttered ought out of her lips, wherewith she bound her soul; And her husband heard [it,] and held his peace at her in the day that he heard [it]: then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall stand. But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard [it]; then he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips, wherewith she bound her soul, of none effect: and the LORD shall forgive her. But every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced, wherewith they have bound their souls, shall stand against her.

We see that ONLY A WIDOW OR DIVORCED WOMAN HAS NO AUTHORITY PLACED OVER HER. We also see from all that I've quoted that all women except for widows and divorced women have the authority of a father or husband that is every bit as binding and supreme as a master.

A woman who has been given to us as the Bible describes shall be to us as:

Our eldest and most trusted daughter except that we also have a sexual relationship with her since she is not our daughter but our woman. This provides us with those thoughts and feelings such as Adam described, bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh and when properly channeled provides much energy for good or for evil. This is why the Bible must always guide our steps.

The closer a man can retain his relationship as above noted, the happier his bride will be and the happier he will be. Women seek a man they can admire. Women admire men who retain that position of power that God has given them over women.

In short, man has a natural desire to follow God's command to multiply. Let us not be diverted. Let us hasten our search for a God fearing woman, who we can rightly place under our authority, and procreate.

1. a man's act of acquiring a woman as a "help meet" in accordance with Genesis 2:18 & 1 Corinthians 11:9
2. a relationship that began and continues in accordance with Genesis 2:18 & 1 Corinthians 11:9

Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said, [It is] not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

1Corinthians 11:9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.

Matrimony* is the exact opposite of what is described in Genesis 2:18 for in matrimony it is the man who is expected to meet the needs of the woman. In many nations, matrimony begins with the man bowing, on bended knee, before the woman, as his first act of submission to her, bearing a gift as a subject might do before a ruler. Although all men who enter andromony help their women in certain ways, the basis for andromony is described by God's own Words, to provide a suitable helper (help meet) who will support the man in his endeavors by serving him.

Proverbs 5:18 Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice from the wife of thy youth.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have been misled. The preposition that occurs before "the wife" in the above sentence is NOT "with"! It is as I have written above, "from" as in the sentence "He ate the entire menu from steak to string beans." To put it another way, "He ate the entire menu beginning with steak all the way to string beans."

In other words, it means "beginning with" so that a better translation in modern English would be:"Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice beginning with the wife of thy youth."Keep in mind that Solomon had just been warning in verses 3-17 against going with whores and now he is contrasting that a man must instead rejoice, i.e., take pleasure in, his wives, beginning with the wife of his youth, i.e., his first wife. There is absolutely no emphasis in the original verse on any exlusivity to a first wife because the word "with" does not even occur in the Hebrew. The word is "from" as in, "beginning with." I discovered this in my Anderson Forbes Phrase Marker Analysis of the Hebrew Bible. Do not be fooled. One wife and one wife only is NEVER taught in the Bible.

It's impossible not to SEE the implication in the sentence when it is properly translated. "rejoice beginning with the wife of thy youth...." till the wife you take when you're an old guy.

Who was the first woman after Eve's disgrace to be given the HONOR of being mentioned in Scripture? and the second woman after Eve to be given that HONOR? and the third woman after Eve to be given that HONOR? Of whose family were these women members?

The answer is that they were the two wives of Lamech and one of his daughters. Lamech is known for being the first to mention self defense. He says that he is worthy of seventy seven times avenging if the guilty Cain is worthy of seven times avenging.
Lamech's wife Adah was the grandmother of those who dwell in tents and raise livestock as well as those who play harp and organ and Lamech's wife Zillah was the mother of the first teacher mentioned, Tubalcain, who taught how to produce brass and iron products. Now women are rarely mentioned in the Bible but in this case it is not only the two wives of Lamech who are given that honor but one of his daughters as well! Naamah, Zillah's daughter is mentioned although nothing further is said about her. HOWEVER, there is a principle that is frequently found and it is this; when something is mentioned three times it is affirming it as very important.

In the paragraph directly following the story of Lamech's wives, the wife of Adam who bore Seth is not even mentioned! If it was Eve, her name was not mentioned. If she was one of Adam's many daughters or even Naamah, the daughter of Lamech, nobody knows for she is simply not mentioned. Keep in mind that the birth of Seth comes 130 years after Adam was created so if you're thinking that when it says, "And Adam knew his wife again" that it's talking of Eve, there is a tiny chance that you're right.

Genesis 4:19-22 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one [was] Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and [of such as have] cattle. And his brother's name [was] Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain [was] Naamah.

Genesis 4:24-25 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold. And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, [said she], hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.

Mark 10:11 is confusing to many students of the Bible. In that verse, Jesus
presents us with a syllogism. A syllogism is a logical argument that has the
form; If A and B, then C. Here is the syllogism Jesus presented in Mark
10:11:

Since
this example is not found anywhere in the Bible,
we lie if we claim that a man who has not put away his wife, and marries
another, commits adultery. Only when a man marries a new wife, having put away
another wife, has he committed "adultery against her." William Tyndale, the
first English translator of the Bible, renders it, "breaketh wedlocke to her
warde" which is synonymous with "causeth her to commit adultery." Mark 10:11 is
simply one of the many examples of putting away "for reasons other than
fornication." Putting away, "saving for the cause of fornication," is
forbidden. Marrying a new wife, without putting away another wife, is
not forbidden.

Matthew 5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put
away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit
adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

For those of you who are having a hard time grasping this I
am adding additional material here that is not in my novel.

Let's look at a real life example of a logical syllogism.

[Whoever borrows his friend's
car] and [sells that car as his own]
A
B
[commits fraud.]
C
From this syllogism, we can
infer the example below is true:
Henry borrowed his friend's
car and sold that car as his own.
A
B
Henry committed fraud.
C
But when one of the antecedents
(A or B) is not true then the conclusion (C) does not follow.
Henry bought his friend's car and sold that car as his own.
NOT A
B
Henry committed fraud.
CIn the second example, A is not true
and therefore C cannot be proven. Henry bought his friend's car. He did not
borrow it. So although B is true, he sold it as his own. Selling your own car is
permissible so to charge Henry with fraud is unwarranted.

NOW LISTEN: The only people who think that Henry committed
fraud in the second sentence are people who grew up in communist countries where
strict laws against buying and selling have short circuited their brains into
making them think that any activity involving buying and selling is forbidden.

Look at where you live. If your country has strict laws
against polygamy then your brain has likely been short circuited to make you
think that even an illogical argument against polygamy is logical simply because
you've been improperly brought up to believe that is is forbidden. Remember, on
the topic of buying and selling a car, you completely understood that the change
of A to Not A (not borrowed but purchased) made the sale completely legitimate.
Apply that to the topic of putting away and marriage. Only putting away for the
purpose of marrying is forbidden. Marrying without putting away is not
forbidden. Of course a woman who takes another husband commits adultery and
there are verses against a married woman being with more than one man.

Romans 7:3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be
married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be
dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be
married to another man.

The following is a typical course description for Philosophy
101 for a first year Pre-Theology student. It includes an introduction to
syllogisms. You do not have to be a theologian, or a linguist to understand that
[If A and B then C] DOES NOT PROVE [If Not A and B then C.] In fact, it doesn't
even hint at C. You simply must have studied one paragraph from any first year
logic book or even a dictionary to understand this.

PHIL101 An Introduction to Philosophical Argumentation
3 credits. This is an introductory course in logic and critical thinking as
practiced by Western philosophers since the time of Aristotle, including the
nature and uses of formal arguments or syllogisms; truth, validity, and
soundness; the distinction between deduction and induction; and the nature and
misuses of informal fallacies.

Note: Pastor Don Milton graduated from the University of Washington in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics. He applies his knowledge of linguistics and logic to analyze and preach the Bible.

"Having
more than one wife could be part of that epic drama the Lord has put you here to
enjoy."
Those words are found on the back cover of Pastor Don Milton's
Polygamy Adventure novel,
Prince of Sumba, Husband to Many Wives.
Now to most of us, the words polygamy and romance don't go together
but Pastor Don has set out in Prince of Sumba, to prove that polygamists have
hearts, consciences, and ethics, every bit as much as monogamists do, if not
more. In addition to the 385 footnotes of historical and biblical documentation,
Pastor Don Milton uses the characters in his novel to entertain the reader with
lively conversations, including one discussion on whether the Protestant church
has censored, erased from history, and even killed Christians who have written
in favor of polygamy.
From the mouth of Ruth, the daughter of the novel's polygamist, we
learn about the Reverend Martin Madan, who founded the Lock Hospital, the first
hospital for the treatment of women with venereal disease. She relates how he
published the first popular hymnal that included both hymn tunes and words, how
he composed more Christian hymn tunes than any composer of his era other than
Handel, and that Handel himself raised funds for Madan's hospital. Ruth goes on
to make the claim that seminaries have refused to document Madan's contribution
in their histories of Christianity because of the
books he
published defending polygamy. Astoundingly, we discover that Madan was the
godfather to the son of Charles Wesley, Samuel Wesley. And that Samuel had a son
through his polygamous marriage to Sarah Suter, Samuel Sebastian Wesley, who
composed "The Church's One Foundation is Jesus Christ Her Lord."
On a more conventional note, the book provides a verse by verse
description of many of the central beliefs of Evangelical Christianity with some
fantastic conversion testimonies to accompany them, including one titled Cherry
the Harlot, a heart rending account of a prostitute turned evangelist.
The story is told by Ish, the missionary, whose wife, Mary,
accompanies him to polygamous Mindanao. Ish's reactions to the Christian women
who want him for their husband are unpredictable and his wife, Mary, is
endearing as she responds, mostly with humility, to the polygamists around her.
Author, Don Milton, has been a taxi driver, business owner, and
minister. He now exercises his gifts in the gospel ministry of
ChristianMarriage.com. Don has published numerous books on the topics of
Christian marriage and courtship as well as Law and Justice. Don received his
Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics at the University of Washington and has studied
five languages.

"We are not going to violate their civil rights
until we have an outcry, a complaint, and I've said that from day one."
Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran

Another way to read Doran's statement is this:

"After we have an outcry, a complaint: WE
WILL VIOLATE THEIR CIVIL RIGHTS."

The likelihood that a child will be abused while in
[Texas] foster care is greater than if they were left where they are. (Bolton, Laner, and Gai, 1981; Pryor, 1991; Spencer and Knudsen, 1992.)1
For the government to remove five hundred and thirty four American (534) citizens in Texas from their homes and put them into the care of homosexuals, fornicators, adulteresses, and worse -- teens with STDs is; well, you tell me what it is. When historians look back at the draconian measures taken against non-Muslims practicing polygamy versus the absolutely blind eye that is turned to
Muslims practicing polygamy, and practicing it in nearly every neighborhood in the nation, they will wonder how ours could have ever been called a "Christian" nation.
Exodus 23:1&2
Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with
the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; (stealing
children) neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest
judgment. (trial by the media)
Our streets are littered with the broken lives of teen prostitutes who may be abused one thousand times with impunity while teens who gave themselves to their one and only husband in purity are locked up. Their crime? Their husband failed to get a government consent form signed and
notarized and then presented to a judge, despite the fact that their parents gave their full and complete approval for the marriage. Of course the parents gave their approval, they're part of that same community!
Before proceeding, we must address one issue which has inflamed the
discussion of polygamy, so-called "underage girls" marrying fifty (50) year old
men. The first cue that such phrases are spoken by stupid people is the
redundancy of "underage girls." The second is that underage is a government
definition and has nothing to do with biology. According to the most simple
logic, a girl is a girl until her first menstruation. After her first
menstruation she is biologically a woman. Furthermore, it has been a long
standing legal precedent that by the age of thirteen an individual has reached
the age of reason where they will be held responsible for their deliberate
actions. Pull out your homeowners insurance policy and you will find a statement
very similar to this. "We will not pay for injuries or damages that are caused
intentionally, UNLESS, the injury or damage is caused by a child 12 years of age
or younger." So we have two definitions, one of them biological and the other
psychological which put the age of thirteen as the age at which a female is
capable both biologically and psychologically of giving consent. The Apostle
Paul says, "I will, therefore, that the younger women marry, bear children,
guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully."
1Timothy 5:14 And again Paul says, "She shall be saved in childbearing, if they
continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. 1Timothy 2:15 Saved
from what? -- saved from a life of fornication so that the adversary (Satan or
anyone else who opposes righteousness) may not have any reason to attack the
virtue of the young women. The Greek word translated as "younger women" is "neos"
which means recently come into being, young, youthful,
new and in the context of marriage Paul is speaking of women who have
recently become women. Ah, so Paul himself says that women should marry
shortly after their first menstrual cycle which was also in accord with the
Roman requirement that upon reaching puberty every citizen must marry.2
Need I remind you that it's America's current five year gap between biologically
becoming a woman and legally becoming a woman (The Marriage Gap) that sets in motion the pattern of
fornication from which few American women ever escape? Even then, they escape
only by doing what Paul instructed them to do in the first place, by marrying.

Another aspect of the current mob mentality
concerning young women marrying fifty (50) year old men is that the public just
cannot believe that a thirteen year old woman would be interested in a fifty
year old man. Have they never heard of Mick Jagger, he's sixty five years old
and man is he UUUGLY! Yet he still has teens swooning over him. The fact is, in
the enclosed society of the FLDS, the fifty (50) year old men are the MOST
attractive men to their young women. They strut their little industrial complex
with a charisma that politicians would envy. Their families are large and happy.
They're famous teachers in their community. They are fearless in the face of
mainstream society, willing to risk prison for their beliefs. These men are not
just desirable to the young women in their society, they're what our mainstream
whores would call HOT. (A whore is a woman who has lost her virginity willingly
without wedlock.) But here is the issue that EVERY person who claims they are a
Christian MUST deal with. The Bible defines marriage. If these women were given
to their husbands by their fathers as wives then they indeed are wives and
anyone who encourages them to be with another man is guilty of causing them to
become adulteresses for they can only be released to marry another man by their
husband with his giving them a Bill of Divorcement. If you are one of the mob
running to encourage them to forsake their first husband and take another man
then you are an accomplice to adultery. Jesus was very strict concerning
marriage and He lived in an age where the average woman married at thirteen. At
the time of Jesus, the Roman law, referred to as the Lex Papia Poppaea,2
decreed punishments such as the loss of inheritance rights for women who
remained single after having attained puberty. Jesus never criticized that law
which commanded that a woman old enough to bear children get married. Why would
he? That law prevented pre-marital sex. So when Jesus made his pronouncements on
marriage those words applied to all marriages, including those with thirteen
year old women. Here is what Jesus said, "But I say unto you, That whosoever
shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causes her to
commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is so divorced commits
adultery." Matthew 5:32 The same goes for you; if you cause a woman to be put
away from her husband then you also are causing her to commit adultery. This is
not a social issue. This is a theological issue and this is an issue of the
right of religious groups to separate themselves from fornicators such as nearly
every American reading this is.
Still another hysteria inducing fact is that the Eldorado
polygamists had a room in their temple for consummating marriages. For those of
you who are so brainwashed by the Roman Catholic marriage ceremonies that
today's Protestants gleefully imitate, every typical marriage in the Bible
involves the guardian giving the bride and the groom taking her to his tent.
What in the world do you think the implication is of what happens in the tent!
Duh, what in the world is marriage? Are you dense or something? Marriage
involves a willing giving of the bride and a consummation of that marriage.
Without the consummation it is not a marriage even according to government law.
The Bridal Canopy3 is a remnant of the
Bridal Tent3 which was used by the Jews
in times past. This Bridal Canopy3 is used in Jewish marriage ceremonies till
this day. If you're going to attack the Eldorado group for having what amounts
to a Bridal Tent3 then just remember
that your attack is anti-Semitic in its roots.
For those of you who think that the anti-polygamy hysteria is some new thing, please note that anti-polygamy laws have their roots in anti-Semitism and the two
Semite groups that have been the brunt of this bigotry are the descendants of Abraham -- Jacob (the Jews), and Ishmael (today's Muslims). Both have a long record of regulated polygamy and both have been the butt of bigoted jokes and worse. It is hate, and hate alone that fuels this group think against polygamy. One thousand years ago Rabbenu Gershom declared that polygamy would be forbidden to Jews in Christian nations. Why did he do this? Well you guess. We see among us five hundred and thirty four
American citizens ripped from their homes because of anti-polygamy hatred. If it were not hate that drives this anti-polygamy hysteria then the subject could be discussed openly and without bigoted jokes, accusations, and outright lies.
To understand the hatred, let me give you an example. Let's say that you and your family chose to live in a neighborhood of five hundred plus like minded Christians and you were all practicing monogamists. Let's say that there was one sixteen year old teenager among you who called the police and said that one of the people in the neighborhood had sex with her after a private marriage ceremony when she was fifteen years old and that her parents knew about it and had approved of it but that they had not obtained a judge's waiver for their daughter to get married at that age. Do you think it would be fair for the government to come into your neighborhood and arrest (that's what it is no matter what else you claim) to arrest, more than five hundred of your neighbors, fellow Americans, yes, AMERICAN citizens, in the largest group arrest in the country in years? Do you think it would be right to take the children of your neighbors who had nothing to do with the fifteen year old's marriage and place those children, all virgins, among some of the most notorious teens of the country? It is a fact that many of the teens in foster care have been placed there because of their own delinquency. Is it right for virgins who have never left their household to be placed among such teens? I have cried over this. If you haven't, may God have mercy on your soul. If you say, "but they were taken out of the homes of polygamists," that's exactly my point. Your hatred for polygamists is so great that you think it's perfectly ok to rip people out of their homes, for what? For being polygamists just like so many Old Testament saints as well as many in the New Testament? Don't you realize that many of Paul's contemporaries were polygamist Christians? If that was not the case then why would Paul have exempted men who were not the "husband of one wife" from the thankless job of Elder, Bishop, and Deacon? He exempted the polygamists because they were being fruitful and multiplying in compliance with God's command and fulfilling that duty was enough to exempt them from unwanted tasks that were to be assigned by Timothy and the other apostles. If the selection was to be only those who were "husbands of one wife" then surely there were enough men with more than one wife that Paul thought it necessary to make such an exemption from troublesome lower offices within the church. Yes, Elder, Bishop, and Deacon were not high offices or they would have been called of God, not appointed by man.
Click here to read my article entitled: "The Key to Understanding The Husband of
One Wife."
Now, back to Texas. Isn't it Texas where the governor assumes that teen girls are so promiscuous that he wants to force them to take anti-std immunizations? So the government bans teen marriage, a godly outlet for young women who choose marriage, yet the government not only permits but encourages them to fornicate? Not only does the government encourage their fornicating but they make it legal for them to fornicate with boys who have no ability to support them but make it illegal for stable bread winners to court them and marry them, even when the parents and the girls have given their consent as part of their system of stated community values. What? This has got to be the craziest system man has ever invented; to reward women who have sex with the boys who are least able to support them and penalize those who choose
to marry men!

BREAKING NEWS--- Obama State Delegate for Colorado, Rozita
Swinton, is the same Rozita Swinton who was arrested for calling in the hoax
that triggered the Eldorado raid against peaceful American citizens. Article
continues below as originally written on April 7, 2008.

The quite probably non-existent girl4
who started the Eldorado
hysteria is quoted as saying, "Church members told her that if she leaves the
ranch, outsiders will ... force her to cut her hair, (TRUE) to wear make
up (TRUE) and [different] clothes (TRUE) and to have sex with lots
of men. (TRUE)" What is it that is not true about the alleged victim's
statement concerning American culture and the environment of foster care today?
Everything that this probably non-existent victim was told about the outside
world was true. Who is the abuser in this situation? The fact is that American
women think it is better to have sex with lots of men before settling on one.
Don't you tell me anything different, you fake! Were you a virgin on your
wedding night? Look at the actual behavior of people if you want to understand a
culture, don't look at what the people in a culture say. We call that baloney.
They're full of baloney, spelled BS. Any anthropologist with training knows
this. You can go into a country where they say cannibalism is evil but if
they're eating their neighbor's liver, don't believe them! When Americans say
they believe in waiting till marriage for their first sex, don't believe them.
Over ninety percent of Americans have pre-marital sex.5
Face it, we live in a country that says one thing about sex and does another.
Forty-five percent of the country says fornication is evil but they fornicate
anyway and forty-five percent of the country says fornication is good and they
practice what they preach, at least concerning fornication. Now we find America
in a situation where its filthy fornicators find a culture within theirs that
says and does what it preaches and the fornicators send in armed government
officials to arrest and detain five hundred and thirty four fellow American
citizens in the most blatant violation of civil rights this country has seen in
over fifty years. The pundits are afraid to discuss the issue in a clear and
rational way because of the irrational hysteria generated in America by the mere
mention of polygamy. Cowards! America's taboo against polygamy has few rivals in
the modern world. Americans are willing to suspend the constitution when it
comes to polygamists but wait, it's white polygamists who are really the focus
of their hatred. "They got our white women in there! They better let lose of
'em or we'll string em up? What white man would do such a thing as have more
than one wife! It's plain uncivilized." I can hear them now, their mouths
frothing as they hold up their pitch forks... oh yes, it's 9mm weapons they use
today. As for the five hundred and thirty- four innocent American citizen
detainees in Texas, they remain jailed. What else do you call it when you are
held against your own will?
To quote a man who I was personally introduced to as a paid staffer on his campaign in 1980;
"Government isn't the solution to our problem, government is the problem." Nearly every blessed mother in the Bible was a teen bride, usually married within a year or two of her first menstruation. Throughout history the average age of a princess has been between thirteen and eighteen and the same has been true for the common man. Men who break the law when they could have simply gotten a government license to marry their young bride are foolish but they are not brutes.
Teen marriage license infractions, for that is all the Texas case concerns, are
now being used to prosecute polygamists since prosecutors know that the next
polygamy prosecution will be struck down by the Supreme Court. According to Texas law the only thing that stands between a woman under the age of sixteen (16) and her man receiving a marriage license is a court order. Take a look at the statute for yourselves.

It is of note that only after the FLDS moved to
Eldorado, were Texas marriage laws changed to discriminate against them, raising
the age without a court order to marry from fourteen to sixteen. Prior to the
2005 law being passed a woman age fourteen or older could marry simply by
producing a properly executed parental consent form. No court order was
required. The requirement of a court order was pass by the Texas legislature for
the specific purpose of discriminating against the FLDS so that such court
orders could be issued for marriage license requests made by any citizens of
Texas EXCEPT unless that citizen were a member of the FLDS.
If men who marry teen brides are brutes then so was President James
Monroe who married his seventeen year old bride, Elizabeth Kortright as well as
President Andrew Johnson who married his then sixteen or seventeen year old
bride, Elizabeth McCardle. Neither did Monroe nor Johnson lift so much as one
finger to get a license for their marriages. In fact, the marriage dates of the
Presidents before the mid-eighteen hundreds are hard to determine since marriage
licenses were not required in most localities. The declaration of the man and
woman that they were husband and wife was deemed sufficient. Many states still
give an exemption to marriage license requirements to Quakers. If men who marry
cousins are brutes then Democrat President Martin Van Buren must also be a brute
for he married his first cousin, Hannah Hoes. First cousin marriage which is a
marriage that is permitted by the Bible is also the butt of anti-Semitic jokes.
If men who marry women who are much younger than they are then President John
Tyler must also be a brute for he married the beautiful, Julia Gardiner, who was thirty years
younger than he was. Likewise, Grover Cleveland, at the age of forty nine, married Frances Folsom who was just twenty-two years old. June/December marriages are also a favorite topic of jokes by bigots who want to put their
noses into the business of other peoples' marriages. This bigotry usually
contains slanders against those who might marry their cousins like Jacob did, or
who might marry a woman much younger, like Jacob did, or who might marry a woman
who was under the age of eighteen, like Jacob did. The fact is, such marriages
tend only to come to the attention of the public when they are done by
polygamists or when they are done by members of religious groups that condemn
fornication and homosexuality. The public considers it vulgar when a monogamist
marries his cousin, a teen, or someone much younger but the public considers it
evil when a polygamist or religious fanatic does the same.
Must I bring up the fact that it was King David, the polygamist, who still had enough time with all his wives to write the beautiful Psalms.
Do you forget that King Solomon still had time to write the godly and perfect Proverbs and the Song of Songs?
Yes, it is a fact that the most poetic and beautiful love poem in the Bible was
written by Solomon, the world's most famous polygamist. Furthermore, this King
Solomon, wrote Ecclesiastes which was taken by a Sixties band for its melodic
words -"To everything - turn, turn, turn There is a season - turn, turn, turn And a time for every purpose under heaven."
Well, it is the season to start recognizing that in a marriage, a man is joined to each of his wives by God, not by man.
This is what many of our presidents recognized. Those of you who do not trust
God to join you in marriage need our prayers. I don't expect my fellow Americans to agree with me. My fellow Americans refuse to hang the pornographers from the lamp posts along
side the CEOs of the major hotel chains in America who pipe in pornography to their hotel rooms.
Americans would prefer that one polygamist be sent to prison than one hundred
million fornicators be told that sex outside of marriage is a sin but let me put
you on notice. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, yes, Jesus Himself, is
going to judge you and that day is not far away and He will punish you. Repent.
He will punish you for forbidding what the Bible permits and for causing grief
and suffering with your backwards and primitive, yes primitive and barbaric
laws. For you reward young women with your welfare state who have sex with boys
that cannot support them and you punish the wise virgins who choose marriage
with an older stable man.
1 Timothy 4:3 1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

[2] Lex Papia Poppaea, A.D. 9, sometimes known as Jus Trium Liberorum granted
special privileges to men with many children and punished celibacy by limiting
the rights of single men. This can account for Paul's discussions on celibacy
which should not be taken as encouraging celibacy but as defending the right of
a man or woman to voluntarily choose marriage instead of feeling
compelled to marry by government decree. The Lex Papia Poppaea decreed
punishments such as the loss of inheritance rights for those who remained single
after having attained puberty up to the age of fifty for women and sixty for
men. A man or woman was given one hundred days to get married upon finding out
they were the beneficiary of an inheritance or forfeit the inheritance. There
are many more interesting details of this Roman law which I'll address in
another article.

[3] Bridal Tent - "They pitched the tent, the bridal
tent, of the Semites, which has survived in the canopy of the Jewish wedding
ceremony to our own day." The International Critical Commentary - A Critical and
Exegetical Commentary on The Books of Samuel by Henry Preserved Smith -
Professor of Biblical History and Interpretation in Amherst College Published in
1902

[4] Rozita Swinton has been arrested and is currently being
investigated for pretending to be a sixteen (16) year old woman; that same
"sixteen year old 'girl'" who was the alibi for the Texas Jack Booted Thugs'
raid on a peaceful neighborhood in Eldorado to steal over four hundred (400)
children from their parents and place them with fornicators, homosexuals, and
adulteresses. Rozita E Swinton is also listed on the El Paso County Colorado
Democrats website as being a State Delegate from Precinct 269. I called the El
Paso County Colorado Democrat Headquarters and spoke with Carol, the woman who
answered the telephone, and when I asked her whether that Rozita Swinton who
is listed on their website as a state delegate for Obama is the same Rozita
Swinton who was arrested for being the polygamy hoax caller she said, yes.

As he that bindeth a stone in a sling, so [is] he that giveth
honour to a fool.
Solomon -- Proverbs 26:8The Texas CPS and Jack Booted Authorities gave honor to a fool, now the
ammunition that they intended to fire at their opponents is blowing up in their
faces!

Ruth's genius was revealed through her method of
Bible study but now she opened up to expose the tenderest of hearts. She set
aside her notes, as her voice softened and she delivered a long overdue eulogy
for the now forgotten Reverend Martin Madan.
"You remember how Sam said that there's a long list of eminent
theologians who've been forgotten simply because they supported polygamy?"
"Yes, I remember." Suni answered, "I was wondering who those might
be."
"Well Suni, the Reverend Martin Madan, the Father of the
Evangelical Hymnal, was a well known preacher of the eighteenth century and the
most talented Church music composer of all time.22 He wrote a
book called: 'Thelyphthora; Or, a Treatise on Female Ruin, Its Causes, Effects,
Consequences, Prevention, and Remedy.' Part of the remedy that Madan proposed
was polygamy.23 He put forth in his book that the ban on polygamy that was
originally put in force by the Roman Catholic popes had been the cause of
widespread prostitution and fornication. He roundly criticized the banning of
taking more than one wife, an activity that Jesus used in metaphor without
criticism."
Cherry recalled the parable of the Ten Virgins, "Yes, Ruth, Jesus praised the five brides
who kept plenty of oil in their lamps while they
waited for their polygamous husband."24
"That's a great example, Cherry. Now can any of you tell me what song the
following line comes from?

'With th' Angelic Hosts proclaim,
Christ is born in Bethlehem!'"

"Are you telling us that the Reverend Martin Madan wrote Hark the
Herald Angels Sing?" Suni asked.
"No, Suni, that was primarily written by Charles Wesley, but in
1760, Martin Madan did introduce those two lines and they have been kept in the
hymn as we sing it still today."25
"So he was apparently a well accepted and much beloved Christian of
his time to have known Charles Wesley." Asina observed.
"That's right. Not only did he know Charles but he was godfather to
Charles' son, Samuel and he was also a friend of Charles' brother, John
Wesley, the famous evangelist who founded the Methodist denomination.26 Madan even comforted
the dying composer Handel, famous for his masterpiece; The Messiah.27 I think it's
clear that up to the moment that he published Thelyphthora, in 1780, that he was
well respected. In 1746, thirty four years before he wrote that book, he founded
the London Lock Hospital. London Lock was the first voluntary hospital that
treated venereal disease.28 It was during his ministerial
duties there that he gained a great deal of first hand knowledge about the
consequences of fornication and prostitution. Shortly after Madan's arrival, the
institution opened a new building and it became known as 'The Female Hospital.'
He built a chapel associated with the hospital which could seat up to eight
hundred people.29 This may not seem large compared with today's mega-churches but
it's still a very large fellowship and it was one of the largest of his day. His
chapel received enough tithes to become a strong source of support for the
hospital.30 It was there that the singing of
hymns first took hold as part of Christian worship in England.31 The members sang from a hymnal that Madan,
himself, had published. He published the hymnal as a benefit to future generations
as well as to raise money for the hospital.32
From the Chapel at the Lock,
Hymn singing spread quickly through the English speaking world with Madan's
hymnal the standard. His mastery of musical worship brought thousands to the
Chapel at the Lock and his hymns have brought many more thousands to a saving
knowledge of our Lord.32 In less than thirty
short years from the first printing of Madan's hymnal, fully two thirds of the
hymns sung, even in the parishes of the Church of England, had been arranged by
Madan himself for his hymnal had become the core of the Church of England's hymnal.33
The Baptist's hymnal came out twenty five
years after Madan's.34 Here is the very hymnal that Madan published. My father let me
take the original from his library to show you."
Ruth handed Cherry the hymnal, 'A Collection of Psalm and Hymn
Tunes, Never Published Before by the Reverend Martin Madan'. Cherry handled it carefully, then reflected.
"So the loving man who published this hymnal was cast aside because
of his pity for the women who came under the bondage of harlotry?* For
wanting the men who knew them only as their mistresses to take them as wives?
That was his sin? That's not sin, that's a badge of honor! I would love to have
known that man!"
"Cherry, I think there are some men just like the Reverend Martin
Madan who are sitting in this room right now."
"I agree. It's wonderful." Cherry looked down. She seemed shy to
consider herself one who a Christian might desire. I didn't doubt that she
understood her eternal value to the Lord but forgetting her past, let alone
believing that any potential husband could forget her past, was still beyond her
grasp. Cherry wanted to know more.
"So what happened to the Reverend Martin Madan, Ruth?"
"After he published Thelyphthora in 1780, he was forced to resign
from the London Lock Hospital, the very hospital that he had founded!
He'd served thirty four years as its founder and twenty two years as its
chaplain when he resigned.35

UPDATE - I have discovered that the Dictionary of
National Biography was in error when stating that Madan resigned in 1780.
According to various biographies of the time, Madan retained the sole title of
Chaplain to the Lock till his death in 1790. Between the years of 1780 and 1790
it is true that other men held the positions of Morning Preacher and Evening
Preacher but none filled his position of Chaplain till his death. De Coetlogon
and Thomas Scott were the best known of these morning and evening preachers.

Ruth handed a Webster's Dictionary to Cherry.
"Look up the word, 'Lock hospital.'"
"Ok, hang on." Cherry opened the dictionary and read the citation.
"'Lock hospital: a hospital for the treatment of venereal diseases.' Wait a
minute, Ruth, you're telling me that a new word entered the English language
because of the Reverend Martin Madan?"
"Yes, Cherry. The Lock Hospital was the first hospital of its kind
in the world! Every hospital like it is now referred to as a Lock hospital. To
this day, the administrators of such hospitals can only pray that they'll have a
fraction of the success that the Reverend Martin Madan had during his years at
the Lock."
"I'm afraid to know the rest of what happened to the Reverend
Martin Madan but I've got to know."

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*Harlot - a woman who has engaged in sexual relations without the benefit of
marriage. Harlots are in bondage to sin, in bondage to the men they have
relations with and those men are also in bondage to them.

Walter C. Kaiser Jr. claims in "Hard Sayings of
the Bible (1997, c1996) Downers Grove, Il: InterVarsity." that since God never
gave permission for polygamy then King David sinned by taking more than one
wife. Here is what Mr. Kaiser states:

"No permission can be recited from the text for any such institution or
practice."
Kaiser, W. C. (1997, c1996). Hard sayings of the Bible (223). Downers Grove, Il:
InterVarsity.

Mr. Kaiser thinks you and I are too stupid to know that he has
changed the definition of sin in order to slander King David. He has changed the
definition of sin to:

That which is not expressly permitted. [false definition of sin]

Does Mr. Kaiser, a man, have the right to change the definition of
sin? The real definition of sin is:

That which is expressly forbidden. [correct definition of sin]
Specifically:
To disobey a command of God to do something.
To disobey a command of God not to do something.

There is no other thing that can be called sin and Mr. Kaiser knows
this. Let me repeat, Mr. Kaiser KNOWS the definition of sin. So for what purpose
has Mr. Kaiser decided to redefine sin? He has redefined sin in order to create
a "straw man." A "straw man" is an imaginary opposition argument that has been
created only for the purpose of easily knocking it down, thus the name, "straw
man."
Let's look at how ridiculous Mr. Kaiser's definition is.
According to Mr. Kaiser's own definition of sin, the following things are sinful
because the Bible does not expressly permit them:

Marrying a woman who has hazel eyes.
Marrying a woman who has a middle name.
Marrying a woman who wears long underwear.

You can see that according to Mr. Kaiser's own definition of sin,
it is a sin to marry at all because unless your specific case is expressly
permitted, it's a sin.
Mr. Kaiser should put his tail between his legs and repent. He
knows that he has played a trick to make his point. The trickery he has used is
so well known that as I've pointed out, it has a name, "straw man."

Walter C. Kaiser's Hateful Slander of Jacob

Walter C. Kaiser continues his slander against
the Jews in his section about Jacob. He stoops once again to straw man trickery,
stating:

"Polygamy was never lawful for any of the persons in the Bible.
There never existed an express biblical permission for such a deviation from the
ordinance of God made at the institution of marriage in the Garden of Eden (Gen
2:21–24)."
Kaiser, W. C. (1997, c1996). Hard sayings of the Bible (130). Downers Grove, Il:
InterVarsity.

Now remember, nothing requires "an express biblical permission."
Sin is that which is forbidden to do as well as that which is
forbidden not to do.
So what is this "ordinance of God made at the institution of
marriage in the Garden of Eden" that Kaiser talks about? Mr. Kaiser wants
us to believe that there is some ordinance in the verses he mentions that
forbids polygamy but that is not what the verses are about. If Mr. Kaiser had
analyzed the Hebrew grammar he would have known that. Hebrew, or any language
for that matter, is not made up merely of words to be translated although some
armchair theologians would like to think so. To understand any sentence, we must
analyze not only the words but the grammar, the syntax, and more. Here are the verses
that Kaiser brings up.

Genesis 2:21-24
21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he
took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib,
which the LORD God had taken from man, made﻿﻿ he a woman, and brought her unto
the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh:
she shall be called Woman﻿, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall
a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they
shall be one flesh.

Now let's remember, sin is that which is forbidden [forbidden to
do or forbidden not to do.]

What does Genesis 2:24 forbid?
Genesis 2:24 forbids homosexuality [leave his father] and it
forbids mother son incest [leave his mother.]

The reason for this understanding of Genesis 2:24 is explained in
the sentence structure. According to the AFPMA [Anderson-Forbes Phrase Marker
Analysis,] the sentence in Genesis 2:24 is divided into two unit phrases:

"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto
his wife."

"and they shall become one flesh."

Italicizing the word they reveals the Hebrew meaning.

"and they shall become one flesh."

In other words, they shall become one flesh as opposed to
the man becoming one flesh with his father or with his mother. Look how the
sentence reads with that understanding.

Paraphrase: The reason that a man shall leave his father and his
mother and cleave unto his wife is that it is they [the man and his wife] who are to
be as one flesh [and certainly the man and his father are not to be as one flesh
nor are the man and his mother to be as one flesh.]

Consider this; the word translated here as "leave" is translated
nearly twice as much as "forsake." Now let's read the sentence with forsake
instead of leave.

"Therefore shall a man forsake his father and his mother, and shall
cleave unto his wife."

Does it say forsake all others? No, it doesn't. It says forsake his
father [ban on male homosexuality] and forsake his mother [ban on mother son
incest.]
Our God is a righteous God. When God condemned Sodom and Gomorrah
with destruction, its people had already broken many laws that were well known
to them; laws which were well known to Adam and which he passed down to his
descendents. One of the laws that the men of Sodom and Gomorrah broke was the
law against male homosexuality which is found in Genesis 2:24 and is found
nowhere else in scripture prior to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. We
know that the men of Sodom and Gomorrah knew that their homosexuality was a sin
precisely because of the account of Genesis 2:24. Adam kept at least an oral
record of Genesis 2:24 which was eventually written by Moses. Here is a list of
some other laws that the descendents of Adam would have received from Adam.

Sanctification of the Sabbath. Genesis 2:3
Ban on male homosexuality. Genesis 2:24
Ban on mother son incest. Genesis 2:24
The requirement for blood sacrifice. Genesis 3:21, Genesis 4:5
The value of repentance. Genesis 4:7 (salvation by grace)
Ban on murder. Genesis 4:8
Paul encapsulates well the lesson of Genesis 3:21, Genesis 4:5, and Genesis 4:7
when he writes in his letter to the Hebrews, chapter 9 verse 22 "And almost all
things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no
remission."

Mr. Kaiser is left with the fact that the Bible contains no
law against polygamy. For those of you who want to use "law of the land"
arguments against polygamy, remember; if you argue that polygamy is wrong
because it's against the law then you must also argue that George Washington was
a traitor and should have been hanged and that the United States is in rebellion
against Great Britain and must go back to being a colony.
How much hatred must Mr. Kaiser have in his heart that he feels the
need to use trickery instead of God's word to make his case. Jesus was clear
that slander involves hatred.

Matthew 5:22
But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause
shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother,
Raca﻿c﻿, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool,
shall be in danger of hell fire.

Walter C. Kaiser's Hateful Slander of Righteous
Abraham

Mr. Kaiser is not satisfied in having slandered
the patriarch of the Jews, Jacob, nor is slandering David, the great writer of
the Psalms enough, but he feels impelled to slander righteous Abraham by
referring to his marriage with Hagar as cohabitation! Read for yourself:

"While the Bible does not stop to moralize on Abram’s cohabitation
with Hagar, it nevertheless expects each reader to realize that what was taking
place was contrary to the will and morality that God approved."
Kaiser, W. C. (1997, c1996). Hard sayings of the Bible (122). Downers Grove, Il:
InterVarsity.

Notice that Mr. Kaiser has to rely on cultural bigotry to get
across his point, stating that, "The Bible ... expects each reader to realize
that what was taking place was contrary to the will and morality that God
approved."

Mr. Kaiser, the Lord expects us to "realize" no such thing. In
fact, the Lord commands us through the Bible:

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine
own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth
against the LORD. Proverbs 19:3

Do you believe it, Mr. Kaiser? Is man's heart so naturally foolish
that it rebels against what the Lord teaches? If you believe Proverbs 19:3 and
Proverbs 3:5 then why do you ask men to "realize" i.e., to "lean unto their own
understanding?"
In closing, Mr. Kaiser, who do you think you are? How is it that
you are so much greater than the Bible that you can invent new definitions of
sin? Is your straw man a nifty little trick that you pull because you enjoy
seeing stupid people in awe? Well, it's not so nifty and people aren't so
stupid. Compare yourself with the men you condemn:

Jacob who God Himself gave the name Israel after having wrestled
with God! Jacob raised twelve sons from which the nation of Israel and our Lord
and Savior, Jesus, trace their roots.
King David wrote the Psalms!
Abraham was called the Friend of God!!!
And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God,
and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of
God. James 2:23

Please pray with me for Mr. Kaiser. Pray that Mr. Kaiser will "lean
not unto his own understanding" but will lean unto "every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4b Pray also that he will correct his books
and publicly confess that he has sinned by using the trickery of the straw man.

Romans 6:1,2,18 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in
sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live
any longer therein? Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of
righteousness.

We Preach Real Grace on this Website, not "greasy grace."

Excerpts from Articles on this site About God's Great
Grace

From Chapter 24 - Isa's Story
Where was the light? Where was my faith? What was I seeing? Was I
blind? I saw the priest go back into rooms with those boys. I heard the sounds.
Of course I lied. I was protecting the holiness of the priesthood. Too bad they
believed the other witnesses and not me or the priest would still have his holy
robes and the church would be protected from those born agains! I remembered the
man whose shouts had summoned me from beneath the bench. That was holiness. What
a strange thing. He prayed to be clean and he was made clean. The song
continued.
"Was it for crimes that I had done, he groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity, grace unknown, and love beyond degree!"
Like the shower spraying above me my eyes burst with tears. I
sobbed. The crime! I had tried to protect the guilty while condemning those poor
molested boys as liars. Praise God they had not listened to me or the other
women in the church who had tried to protect that ungodly priest.
"Praise God!"
That came from my mouth? I realized I was talking outloud or was I
praying. The song continued.
"Well might the sun in darkness hide and shut his glories in when
Christ, the mighty Maker died for man the creature’s sin. Thus might I hide my
blushing face while His dear cross appears dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
and melt my eyes to tears.
"Thank You Jesus!" I began shouting, "Thank You Jesus!"
Who am I now? I thought to myself then just as suddenly I shouted.
"Praise God!"
Who am I? I'm born again! There was no shame, no second thoughts. I
was simply changed, in an instant. Sure, you'll find out that I have worldy
things about me that I don't seem to be able to shake but the Lord keeps me
clean and keeps me from temptations that I cannot resist. The song finished as I
dried off.
"But drops of grief can ne’er repay the debt of love I owe:
Here, Lord, I give my self away ’Tis all that I can do."
I had never felt that I belonged to anyone but now I felt I had a
Master; the Lord Jesus. A burden had truly been lifted from me. Such a change to
occur by listening to a song.

From "John and Charles Wesley's Sister Married a Polygamist
Another occasion that showed Westley Hall's gracious manner was
"when Whitefield and [John] Wesley quarreled respecting the doctrine of 'Free
Grace,' and Whitefield declared his intention to attack Wesley and his brother
[Charles] wherever he went, Westley Hall assumed the office of peacemaker,
waited upon Whitefield, and reminded him of a promise, he had made, 'that
whatever his private opinion was, he would never publicly preach against'
them."7 Here is what Susanna Wesley wrote concerning the Reverend Westley Hall
and his wife Martha Wesley Hall in a letter dated August 5, 1737:
"Mr. Hall and his wife are very good to me. He behaves like a gentleman and a
Christian; and my daughter with as much duty and tenderness as can be
expressed."8

A little over two years later, on September 3, 1739, John Wesley wrote in his
journal:

"I talked largely with my mother, who told me, that, till a short time since,
she had scarce heard such a thing mentioned as the having God's spirit bearing
witness with our spirit: much less did she imagine that this was the common
privilege of all true believers. 'Therefore,' said she, 'I never durst ask for
it myself. But two or three weeks ago, while my son Hall was pronouncing those
words, in delivering the cup to me, -The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which
was given for thee,-the words struck my heart, and I knew, God, for Christ's
sake, had forgiven me all my sins.'"

From Thelyphthora - Now YOU can read it!
Martin Madan also wrote the words to "Now Begin the Heav'nly Theme"
which is more often known by the name "Redeeming love" and which was clearly
inspired by his charitable ministry to those who had escaped the bonds of
prostitution. Listen to how his lyrics appeal to the lost, that they would
accept God's grace and "taste redeeming love."

'Ye, alas! who long have been
Willing slaves to death and sin,
Now from bliss no longer rove,
Stop and taste redeeming love.'"

From Charles Wesley's Son was a Polygamist
Now this powerful conversion of Martin Madan was no exaggeration
for he was so interested in reaching the lost for the Lord that he took the
chaplaincy of the London Lock Hospital, a hospital that treated those afflicted
with venereal diseases. He knew that he had found a place where he could not
only reach the lost but involve himself in his music ministry, a ministry which
was to take up the greater portion of his career. It was during this time that
he penned the words to the following famous hymn:

Redeeming Love

Now begin the heav’nly theme,
Sing aloud in Jesus’ Name;
Ye, who His salvation prove,
Triumph in redeeming love.

Ye, who see the Father’s grace
Beaming in the Savior’s face,
As to Canaan on ye move,
Praise and bless redeeming love.

In reading the lyrics to Redeeming Love it's easy to see how songs such as this,
combined with the preaching of God's word by the Reverend Martin Madan, would
pierce even the hearts of lost prostitutes who had nowhere to go but the London
Lock Hospital. As they lived out their days suffering and often dying from the
scourge of venereal disease they found redemption and then joy in singing
praises to God.

From Nation of Harlots
Don't try to hide your sins from yourself no matter what those sins
have been. Let the Lord "hide His face" (psalm 51:9) from those sins and cleanse
you from all unrighteousness. He'll not only hide His face from them, He'll take
them away as "far as the east is from the west." Psalm 103:12 It is His power
and His grace that is made even more awesome when we see the great sins that He
has freed us from.
If you are a harlot or fornicator let it be said about you:

Such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. 1
Corinthians 6:11

For:

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now, no condemnation to them which are in Christ
Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:1

May the psalmist's prayer be yours:

"Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a
clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from
thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of
thy salvation; and uphold me [with thy] free spirit. [Then] will I teach
transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee." Psalms
51:9-13 Praise the Lord!

Will you join me in teaching transgressors the ways of the Lord so
that sinners can be converted?

From Chapter 15 - Coming of Age
"He is the father of a childhood friend, Priti, strong but
delicate."
"We must ask your Santran if he has had any visions concerning your
Priti. Maybe she has had a dream also."
"Priti has worked for my mother as her maid for many years. They
are inseparable. Priti is a Christian!" I exclaimed. "I remember a hymn that
they would sing when my father would shush them and they'd return to her
quarters. The words were,
"'He dwells in the high and holy place, with Him also that is of a
contrite and humble spirit,' This is speaking of Jesus! 'to revive the spirit of
the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.' That's us by God's
grace!"
"They made a song of that? How wonderful!" Zuah pulled out her
Bible. It seemed that all members of King Jochan's family had Bibles. "Here it
is, Isaiah 57:15 I'll read it. 'I dwell in the high and holy place, with him
also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the
humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.'"
"This is astounding! How is it that my people can read this verse
and not know what it is about. What's even more astounding is that I have never
found much to talk about with a woman and now I am talking about everything with
you, Zuah."

From the Footnotes to Chapter 14 - Dreams & Visions
Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are the called according to [his] purpose.
2Corinthians 12:9
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made
perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my
infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I
say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto
this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing
shall be impossible unto you.
Ephesians 2:8&9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Acts 17:31
Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in
righteousness by [that] man whom he hath ordained; [whereof] he hath given
assurance unto all [men], in that he hath raised him from the dead.
Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may
obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Romans 4:4-8
Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to
him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his
faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the
blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
[Saying], Blessed [are] they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are
covered. Blessed [is] the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

From Chapter 18 - Hymns that Convert the Soul
Asina was now up, and again, like an angel herself, the feet of a
ballerina, she floated across the room. Her tambourine accented the song in
perfect timing. The girls hummed melodiously till the part where the verse
repeated itself and then they sang along. No one had to give them permission to
praise God in song. Formality took a back seat in their love for the Lord.

"The trumpet of God
Is sounding abroad,
The language of mercy,
salvation through blood.

Thrice happy are they
Who hear and obey,
And share in the blessings,
of this gospel day.

The people who know
The Saviour below,
With burning affection,
to worship him glow."

Mary was singing every bit as much as the girls now. The hardness
in her face had left as tears rolled down her cheeks. Still, she sang along,
having been handed a hymnal from Prince John's collection. Ruth had opened it to
this, her favorite song.

"Their anguish and smart,
And Sorrows depart,
Who find his salvation,
inscribed on their heart.

This blessing is mine,
Through favour divine;
But O my Redeemer,
the glory be thine.

The work is of grace;
Thine, thine be the praise;
And mine to adore thee,
and tell of thy ways."

We were all clapping now, both to the Lord and for our joy to have
found such a song. How could this song have remained hidden for so many years.
Having never heard it, it sounded new and fresh. What could it have been that
caused such a heartfelt song to be lost, I asked myself. Mary was asking the
same question, only to Ruth.
"Ruth, Ruth, what is this hymnal?"
Ruth shyly looked down.
"It's, it's the hymnal that Martin Madan put together." Ruth now
raised her eyes and looked directly at Mary. "He donated this hymnal to the
London Lock Hospital for Women in hopes that the proceeds from its sale would
help to maintain and promote the charitable cause of that institution."

From Chapter 7 - Loaves of Bread, Fish!
In the few seconds before losing consciousness, I remembered the
words that had come from the Lord, "Loaves of bread, fish!" What were the Lord's
plans for the tens of thousands of new believers he'd just laid at our doorstep?
I hummed,

"Grace, grace, God's grace,
grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
grace, grace, God's grace,
grace that is greater than all our sin!"[15]

Falling back on my bed I pushed my other shoe off my foot with my
toe. Thud, I was out.

From Chapter 8 - The Market
"Besides, we wanted to keep you humble, Ish." Asina quipped. "After
the most fantastic revival that Cagayan de Oro has ever seen, we didn't want to
give you time to bask in the accolades."
I remembered the song I'd hummed before falling to sleep, 'Grace
grace, God's grace.' It was then that I realized Asina was right, for as I
hummed, I felt no small sense of pride in having been part of that revival. I
understood moreover, that Satan's plans for the destruction of a man's ministry
go into high gear with the ministry's first great success. I prayed quietly in
my heart: 'Lord, keep my thoughts pure and toward you in all ways. Gently keep
me humble and let me lean on You and Your word only. May I give you the glory
and honor in all things.'

From the footnotes to Chapter 6 - Cherry the Harlot
[17] Ephesians 2:6-9
And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly
[places] in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding
riches of his grace in [his] kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by
grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift
of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

From We Preach Christ Crucified
We're sinners, saved by grace.
"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans
3:23
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:8-10

From Chapter 17 - Priti's Wedding
"Grandma, could we pray before your story?" Ruth interjected.
"My granddaughter, Ruth is wise. I must apologize, we barely made
it out with our lives and my anger is still hot on my tongue. Can you forgive
me, Ruth?"
"Of course, who wouldn't be upset with that horrible uncle of mine.
Maybe Sam can begin with a prayer for him."
John's mother nodded her head and then closed her eyes. Sam prayed.
"Lord, you know the hearts of all men and women. You know that
without your grace and leading that not one of us in this room could have the
faith to believe that you sent your son for us and that he died for our sins.
Thank you for this. We pray now for Anasah and his mother Arwa. We pray also for
their Imam. Lead their hearts and if necessary, in dreams and visions to see
that you are the one holy God. Bless them to shame and bring them to a saving
knowledge of You and Your Son, Our Lord and Savior Jesus the Messiah. In His
Name we pray."
"Amen." We agreed as one.

From Dear Pastor Don Letters
Can one guilty of adultery go to heaven? Of course. Everyone is
capable of repentance with the help of the Holy Spirit and through the grace of
God. The man being crucified with Jesus repented and saw the Kingdom of God. If
we enact the death penalty for adulterers and adulteresses in America that would
not prevent them from repenting prior to their death by stoning and if their
repentance were genuine they would see the Kingdom of God.

John and Charles Wesley's Sister Married a Polygamist

For those of you who will criticize me because I am
condemning Luke Tyerman because he slandered the Reverend Westley Hall, read the
following:

Deuteronomy 19:16-19
If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him [that which
is] wrong; Then both the men, between whom the controversy [is], shall stand
before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those
days; And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, [if] the
witness [be] a false witness, [and] hath testified falsely against his brother;
Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so
shalt thou put the evil away from among you.

Luke Tyerman is a false witness as you will read in this article. His slander
against the Reverend Westley Hall took place around one hundred years after the
death of the Reverend Hall when, in 1873, he published The Oxford
Methodists. It is now around one hundred years after the death of Luke Tyerman.
I will now show that Luke Tyerman is the very "monster and brute" that he
falsely accused the Reverend Westley Hall of being. You be the judge.

The Reverend Westley Hall was a dedicated evangelist of the
18th Century who was also a polygamist. Many churches and Christian evangelicals
supported him throughout his ministry knowing full well that he was a polygamist
both in theory and in practice. Here is a summary of the Reverend
Westley Hall's family. It will soon be added to with additional footnotes.

First wife: Martha Wesley (The sister of John Wesley, founder of the
Methodists and Charles Wesley, the greatest Christian Hymn writer.)
Second wife: Mrs. Betty Rogers Hall, was for a time, the Halls' seamstress.1
Third and subsequent wives: Mrs. A. Hall, Mrs. E.R. Hall and others. I don't
know yet what order. (It was the custom of the time to
give initials only for the names of anyone involved in a relationship that
"polite society" didn't consider proper.)2
Children by Martha: ten, all died before reaching adulthood.
Children by his other wives: many, from Ireland to America. I am still
researching the descendents of Westley Hall.

The Reverend Westley Hall was the brother-in-law
of John and Charles Wesley through his marriage to their sister, Martha Wesley.
What made the Reverend Hall unique for his time, was that he openly taught that
the Bible allows polygamy, and his wife Martha knew this. In our discussion of
the Reverend Hall's life, therefore, we must put aside bigotry and understand
that the Reverend Hall took the women with whom he had relations as wives. [Let
marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for
God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Hebrews 13:4]
Martha knew
who she had married and trusted that his beliefs about marriage were based on
the Bible, and they were. Now, in order to avoid such bigotry as has attended
discussions of polygamy in the past, we must first expose the bigotry. We'll
begin by exposing the slander that has been fomented against the Reverend
Westley Hall by Luke Tyerman in the last chapter of his book, The Oxford
Methodists. He begins his attack with the first sentence of that chapter as
follows:

"It is far from pleasant to conclude a book, in
darkness and in pollution; but, in the present case, it cannot be avoided."3

This attack against the Reverend Hall is
unjustified. He was open about his polygamy so it can't be said that he did
anything in darkness. As for pollution? "Let marriage be held in honor among
all." Hebrews 13:4a. Reverend Hall only had relations with his wives, so to
accuse him of pollution is to dishonor marriage itself.
Mr. Tyerman, astoundingly, is unmoved by the very facts of the
Reverend Hall's godly life, which, in page after page of Mr. Tyerman's own
book, Mr. Tyerman himself reveals! The facts of the Reverend Hall's godly
life are apparent to the reader but Mr. Tyerman, the expositor of those facts,
is unable to take them to heart. His bigotry against polygamy colors nearly
every judgment he makes about the Reverend Hall.4
In one paragraph he attacks the Reverend Hall for disciplining his
son by putting him into a "dark closet." Is Mr. Tyerman claiming that no
monogamist mother or father has ever disciplined their child this way? No,
what disturbs Mr. Tyerman is that Martha is nursing one of the Reverend Hall's
children by another wife when this disciplinary action takes place. Would Mr.
Tyerman prefer that whenever Martha is nursing one of her husband's children by
another of his wives that their own children be allowed to misbehave? Is leaving
children without discipline, loving? It's clear that what really disturbs Mr.
Tyerman is that Martha is not only willing to share her husband with other wives
but she is willing to love the children of those other wives as if they are her
own. Even going so far as to nurse them. It upsets Tyerman and others who hate
polygamists when they see a polygamist family without strife since they boldly
claim that this is always the case in polygamist marriages. Maybe they boldly
lie that strife between wives is the rule in polygamist marriages because
the fact is there are only three such cases of strife recorded between wives in
the Bible who shared their husband; Sarah & Hagar, Leah & Rachel, and Peninnah &
Hannah. That's it! The fact is that there are more verses concerning strife
between a husband and his wife in a monogamous marriage than there are verses concerning strife between
the
wives in a polygamous marriage but we don't use that discord in monogamous marriages as grounds
for condemning them. It's bigotry, impure and simple, that leads men to condemn
polygamy for the scriptures certainly don't do it.
It's clear that the lack of discord in the Reverend Hall's family
so upset Mr. Tyerman's stereotyped view of polygamous families that he felt
compelled to condemn even the slightest infraction on the part of the husband.
It is of note that in the twenty five pages written by Mr. Tyerman about the
life of the Reverend Westley Hall that he was unable to document even one word
of discord between the Reverend Hall and his wives or even between the wives!
Furthermore, Mr. Tyerman continued the sin of his dark generation of
religionists by leaving the names of the other wives and their children out of
his account. Are we to believe that the Reverend Hall, who
blessed Martha with ten, yes, ten conceptions, had no children to survive him
through any of his other wives?
Finding himself without any first hand evidence with which to
attack the Reverend Westley Hall, Luke Tyerman selects a jury of sorts by which
he slanderously prosecutes his case, and who makes up that jury? The in-laws! Yes,
that's exactly whose word he takes. I wonder how many of you would like the
history of your actions here on earth to be judged by your in-laws, and then,
only those in-laws who have uttered words against you. I can hear you protesting
now, "Please, choose from any of my enemies, but don't let my in-laws judge me!"
However, Mr. Tyerman's efforts to tarnish the Reverend Westley
Hall's godly life fail again as he tries to paint a picture of the evil
polygamist through the eyes of his in-laws. He quotes Samuel Wesley, Martha's
brother as follows:

"It is certainly true of that marriage; it will not, and it
cannot come to good."5

Martha's brother, Samuel, penned these lines,
upset that his other sister Kezziah had gone to live with Martha and her
husband, the Reverend Westley Hall. Tyerman writes that Samuel "was also wishful
to have Kezziah beneath his roof, if his brother John would continue to allow
her fifty pounds a year."3 Fifty pounds a year! That's a sum equal to well over
$500 a month in today's dollars.
Instead of succeeding in painting a portrait of an evil polygamist,
Tyerman leads us to believe that the Wesleys are stingy in caring for the needs
of their spinster sister. Samuel, who will not support his sister, begrudges
Kezziah the support of her sister Martha and brother-in-law, the Reverend Westley Hall.
The reason for the family's initial hostility toward the Reverend
Hall can be traced back to his proposal to Martha, followed by his proposal to
her sister Kezziah, and then finally in his marriage to Martha. Before
explaining the details of this confusing courtship I must first make clear to
you that the Reverend Westley Hall did not marry both of the sisters.
The following is Mr.
Tyerman's outline of Dr. Adam Clarke's account:

"About the year 1734, Westley Hall met Martha at
her uncle's house in London, proposed to marry her, and, without the knowledge
of her parents, or her brothers, was accepted. He then accompanied John and
Charles to Epworth, and there saw Kezziah, grew enamoured of her, courted, and
obtained her consent, and that of the family in general, to marry him; all of
them being ignorant of his pre-engagement with Martha. Returning to London, Hall
renewed his addresses to "poor Patty," [Martha] who was completely unconscious
of what had transpired at Epworth. She wrote to her mother, stating that for
some time past, she had been betrothed to Hall. Kezziah, on learning this,
renounced all claim to him. The mother wrote to Martha, assuring her, "that, if
she obtained the consent of her uncle, there was no obstacle" to the marriage.
The uncle raised no objection; gave Martha a dowry of 500 pounds; and the
wedding was completed."

Tyerman admits that if there were some horrible misstep on the part
of the Reverend Hall, as opposed to any misstep on the part of Martha or
Kezziah, that it is "unaccountable" that Susanna Wesley, Martha's mother, would
have then and for her whole life, held such a "high opinion" of the Reverend
Hall. I can't help but wonder if there was something that only their mother
knew, but for the sake of honor did not disclose. No, I'm not saying that either
Martha or Kezziah committed some fornication. What I'm saying is that there
certainly could have been a break in the engagement between Martha and the
Reverend Hall that permitted him to court her sister. This break could have been
repaired once Martha realized she was going to lose Westley to her own sister,
Kezziah. Likewise, Kezziah, upon finding out that her sister, Martha, had
overplayed her hand but still loved Westley, Kezziah, now having second thoughts
concerning marriage on any account, could simply have decided to give him up.
Reverend Hall's own beliefs concerning marriage and polygamy could have been
enough for Kezziah to resign herself to his love but not to his affections.
Living under his roof so soon after her sister's marriage to him is evidence, if
not proof, of this supposition.
It's baffling how Tyerman ignores the character references for the
Reverend Hall that are given by Susanna
Wesley, the oft lauded matriarch of the Wesley evangelical legacy. Susanna's
actions speak loudly as well for she moves
in with her daughter Martha and the Reverend Hall within one year of her son
Samuel's complaint that his sister
Kezziah had done so. Any partial observer would have to agree that the Reverend
Hall and his wife Martha kept a wonderful household. In fact, in addition to
gracing the likes of Susanna Wesley, the Reverend and Mrs. Westley Hall were
hosts to George Whitefield [the leading figure in the eighteenth century American revival known as the Great Awakening] while he was on his way to Wales.6
Another occasion that showed Westley Hall's gracious manner was "when Whitefield
and [John] Wesley quarreled respecting the doctrine of 'Free Grace,' and
Whitefield declared his intention to attack Wesley and his brother [Charles]
wherever he went, Westley Hall assumed the office of peacemaker, waited upon
Whitefield, and reminded him of a promise, he had made, 'that whatever his
private opinion was, he would never publicly preach against' them."7 Here is what Susanna Wesley
wrote concerning the Reverend Westley Hall and his wife Martha Wesley Hall in a letter dated August 5, 1737:

"Mr. Hall and his wife are very good to me. He
behaves like a gentleman and a Christian; and my daughter with as much duty and
tenderness as can be expressed."8

A little over two years later, on September 3, 1739, John Wesley wrote in his
journal:

"I talked largely with my mother, who told me,
that, till a short time since, she had scarce heard such a thing mentioned as
the having God's spirit bearing witness with our spirit: much less did she
imagine that this was the common privilege of all true believers. 'Therefore,'
said she, 'I never durst ask for it myself. But two or three weeks ago, while my
son Hall was pronouncing those words, in delivering the cup to me, -The blood of
our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for thee,-the words struck my heart, and
I knew, God, for Christ's sake, had forgiven me all my sins.'"

Three years later, Charles Wesley confirmed in a poem at his
mother's funeral that it was at the moment that his mother received the
communion cup from Westley Hall that she first felt her sins forgiven:

In sure and steadfast hope to rise
And claim her mansion in the skies
A Christian here her flesh laid down
The cross exchanging for a crown
True daughter of affliction, she
Inured to pain and misery
Mourn'd a long night of griefs and fears
A legal night of seventy yearsThe Father then revealed his Son
Him in the broken bread made known
She knew and felt her sins forgiven
And found the earnest of her heaven
Meet for the fellowship above
She heard the call, "Arise, my love!"
"I come!" her dying looks replied
And, lamb-like as her Lord, she died.

It's clear from Charles Wesley's
poem that despite his disagreements with the Reverend Westley Hall that Charles
Wesley indeed credited Hall with being the instrument of God in uttering those precious
words of assurance to his mother. He said no less than that in the words of his
poem. "The Father then revealed his Son, Him in the
broken bread made known, She knew and felt her sins forgiven."
At the very least, the Reverend Hall's "pronouncing those words"
opened Susanna Wesley's heart to the assurance of salvation. Some could
argue that Susanna Wesley was not even saved before the moment about which she
says, "the words struck my heart, and I knew, God, for Christ's sake, had
forgiven me all my sins."
In light of this, we must use caution in judging the Reverend Hall.
There is no reason to believe that he was anything other than a man of honor,
and one who preached the gospel. There are details as to his doctrinal positions
that I won't address, simply because they are of a denominational nature. It is
sufficient to say that most of today's Christians would be closer to the
Reverend Westley Hall in their
understanding of salvation and the role of any church hierarchy in their lives
than they would be to his brothers-in-law, the Wesleys, who
pledged their allegiance to the Church of England insofar as she was considered an
extension of Rome.
Regardless of anyone's views on the Reverend Westley Hall it is of
note that "The unrest of Mr. Wesley's (John) mind was deepened by correspondence
with the Rev. Westley Hall, who had urged him to renounce the Church of England.
At that time, Mr. Wesley believed in apostolical succession and the offering of
an outward sacrifice by the priest. These dogmas were soon afterwards given up
by him."9
So we see that the Reverend Westley Hall has had an influence on
our very institutions for he was the man who convinced John Wesley, the founder
of Methodism, that our churches are not to be branches of Rome but indeed we are
to stand with Jesus only as our mediator between each one of us and God the
Father. These ideas were not unique to the Reverend Westley Hall but he was the
one that introduced them with effect to John Wesley. [1 Timothy 2:5 For [there
is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;]
Despite these facts, Tyerman continues through his chapter about
the Reverend Westley Hall to spout one hateful sentence
after another with not so much as one piece of evidence that the Reverend Hall
ever wronged his first wife, Martha, or anyone of his other wives, friends, or
associates. Tyerman slanders the Reverend Hall with one comparison after another to sinners of
the past. He begins by comparing Reverend Hall to Reuben, the son of Jacob, who
took his own father's wife! Did the Reverend Westley Hall ever do such a thing?
Never, not even in the wildest slanders against him, was it ever alleged that he
did such a thing. So why exactly does Luke Tyerman hate the Reverend Westley
Hall, even going so far as to call him "Reuben redivivus?" [Reuben
revived.] The answer is simple,
like most religionists who disagree with polygamy, it's not enough for them to
simply disagree and state the differences. It's not enough because they have no
facts on their side. It's literally not enough. They have no
scriptures, no precedent, their entire argument is based on feelings and those
feelings, are not from love, but hatred. The twisting of scriptures to paint an
evil picture of polygamists begins with their quoting the Bible concerning
Lamech. Lamech, who they claim is the first polygamist, acts in self defense by
killing his attacker, but we'll overlook this obvious fact for a moment and use
the anti-polygamists illogic to expose their own error. They claim Adam as the
model on which we should base our marriages and say that he was a monogamist.
Ok, let's accept that at face value. Look what horror befalls Adam, the
monogamist. He has but one wife, so not wishing to lose her he commits the
original sin in accepting the forbidden fruit, thereby causing untold suffering
not to mention the sacrificial death of our Lord and Savior Jesus in order to
wipe that original sin away. Then his tiny
monogamist family which is limited to just one birth per year, turns inward upon
itself with the first born of a monogamist murdering the second born of a
monogamist and then going out to be a monogamist himself! Oh what horrors
monogamy causes! Of course I'm jesting. You know and I know that such arguments
are ridiculous but such are the arguments of anti-polygamists against the
polygamists.
Without any valid arguments against polygamy, it's not surprising
that the anti-polygamists stoop to name calling, the last bastion of liberals
which is what all religionists are. The religionists follow the teachings of man
and an imperfect and evolving culture over the perfect teachings of our Lord as
found in the pages of the Bible. Their name calling amounts to bearing false
testimony which Jesus stated leads to murder.

"Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou
shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22
But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause
shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother,
Raca﻿﻿, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool,
shall be in danger of hell fire. Matthew 5:21,22

Do you ever get the feeling that those who
oppose polygamy would like to see the polygamists dead? If you have never been
on the receiving end of such hatred, just try an experiment. Tell your friends
in church that polygamy is acceptable to God and that no woman should oppose her
husband in his desires to take another wife. Then duck for cover. They'll spew venom
as never you thought they could. The kind people that you thought you knew will
hate you and will not use the Bible against you except when they take it
entirely out of context. They'll stoop to slandering every polygamist
who ever walked the earth, including King David.
Now, back to Mr. Tyerman who hates the Reverend Hall because, in
his words, "The man became a professed polygamist." Mr. Tyerman sees
no reason to justify his calling the Reverend Westley Hall a "monster and a brute"
because he simply considers any polygamist a monster and a brute. If this is not
his reason for condemning Mr. Hall with these words, then what is? What sin has
the Reverend Hall committed? Has he beat his wife? No. Has he yelled at her and
berated her? No. Has he beaten the children? No. Then what could it be? What could Mr. Tyerman be
referring to when he accuses the Reverend Westley Hall of being a "monster and a
brute?" He's referring to one thing; the fact that the Reverend Hall agreed with
Martin Luther, John Milton, and other eminent theologians and writers of the
reformation and the centuries following it, that a man has a right to have more
than one wife, and moreover, that the Reverend Hall followed in the custom of
certain close relatives of the Wesleys by actually taking more than one wife.
Luke Tyerman, in fact, has absolutely no justification for any of the bigoted
adjectives that he ascribes to the Reverend Westley Hall. Luke Tyerman hates
polygamists so he thinks that he can call them all manner of name without
justification. If you're against polygamy then you've likely participated in the
same slanders even if those slanders have only been within the confines of your
mind because there are no scriptures against polygamy. I am waiting till this
day for anyone who has visited any of my websites to produce once such verse and
I've had well over a million readers since my ministry began. Thousands who hate
my ministry have sent me comments through the comment form on this website but
most have not even had the guts to give their real email address. Not one of
those critics has given any verse banning
polygamy because there are none.
There is a stark contrast between the Reverend Westley Hall's happy
polygamous marriages, including saint like descriptions of his wife, Martha, and
the unhappy monogamous marriage of his brother-in-law, John Wesley. John
Wesley's wife "traveled with him for some time, but soon very naturally grew
dissatisfied with a life so restless and so incompatible with the tastes and
convenience of her sex. Unwilling to travel herself, she became equally
dissatisfied with her husband's habitual absence. Her discontent took at last
the form of a monomaniacal jealousy. During twenty years she persecuted him with
unfounded suspicions and intolerable annoyances. She repeatedly deserted him,
but returned at his own earnest instance. She opened, interpolated, and then
exposed to his enemies his correspondence, and sometimes traveled a hundred
miles to see, from a window, who accompanied him in his carriage. At last,
taking with her portions of his Journals and papers, which she never restored,
she left him with the assurance that she would never return."10"Mrs. Hall was never heard to speak of her husband but with
kindness. She often expressed wonder that women should profess to love their
husbands, and yet dwell upon their faults, or indeed upon those of their
friends. She was never known to speak evil of any person."11
It can only be guessed as to where the Reverend Westley Hall first
got it in his mind to become a polygamist but it would have been impossible for
the Reverend Hall not to have known that the cousin of his wife's grandfather
had been a polygamist since the case of the latter's son was the legal case of
the century. In fact, the case of James Annesley, the son of that cousin, Lord
Altham, Earl of Anglesea, is
often cited as the precedent setting case for Attorney Client Privilege.
Had Mr. Tyerman referred to Lord Altham, the cousin of Martha
Wesley Hall's grandfather, as a monster and a brute, I would have had no argument with him, because
after Lord Altham took a second wife, he sent away the first, in effect,
divorcing her without any legal proceedings or Bill of Divorcement, then upon the urging of his second
wife, Lord Altham sent away even the son that his first wife had borne him.
Worse yet, he
spread the rumor that this, his own son, had died, effectively disinheriting him! This son,
James Annesley, had barely reached the tender age of ten when he became a
homeless vagabond in the London streets. Three years later, the other cousin of
Martha Wesley Hall's grandfather, Richard, sent James away on a boat to be sold in America as a slave.
After many years, James was able to return to England.12 His case was heard at the
bar of the Court of Exchequer in Dublin. Howell's State Trials refers to it as
"the longest trial ever known, lasting fifteen days, and the jury, most of them,
gentlemen of the greatest property in Ireland, and almost all members of
parliament." Richard Annesley, Lord Altham's cousin who had by default gained
the estate, lost the case to the rightful heir, James Annesley, but continued to
appeal, even to "his Majesty for his seat in the Houses of Peers of both
kingdoms." The rightful heir, James Annesley, ran out of money to fight the
appeals and died penniless. His case could not have escaped the attention of the
Wesleys by 1741, when he returned from America by way of Jamaica and news of it
hit the tabloids.13
Now there was another Annesley of whom the brothers John and Charles
Wesley as well as their brother-in-law, the Reverend Westley Hall must have been acutely aware, their mother's great uncle, the
first Earl of Anglesea. He was an intimate of John Milton, having
received many of his
publications prior to release and a few that were not released till after the
death of John Milton.14 It's clear that this ancestor of the Wesleys would have been privy to
Milton's teachings on divorce and polygamy for within the circle of John Milton, biblical
divorce and its kinder alternative, Christian polygamy, were daily topics for
discussion. Dryden, had worked in the same office with Milton and is fondly
remembered as the author of the following poem:

In pious times, ere priestcraft did begin,
before polygamy was made a sin;
When man on many multiplied his kind,
Ere one to one was cursedly confined;
When nature prompted, and no law denied
Promiscuous use of concubine and bride;
Then Israel's monarch after heaven's own heart,
His vigorous warmth did variously impart
To wives and slaves; and, wide as his command,
Scattered his maker's image through the land.

It was not just the Reverend Westley Hall's
polygamy that Luke Tyerman disagreed with. It was the Reverend Hall's brand of evangelicalism
that opposed popery as well as those churches, which included the
Anglican church, that taught that their own authority came from Rome. In the
Reverend Westley Hall's own poem to his son by Martha
he warns his son against following in the traditions of Rome, something that
nearly every member of every Baptist church in America heard regularly till the
last few decades.
Tyerman condemns him for opposing Romish doctrines instead of
praising him for trusting in God's word alone. Here is a portion of what the
Reverend Westley Hall wrote for his son with which you'll likely agree:

"Inspired with frantic, false, fanatic zeal,
See, with what rage, they threat damnation, -hell,
To all who fair expose the wretched lies,
The frauds, the follies, falsehood, forgeries,
Of Romish fathers, councils, canons, schools,
Impostors' orders, monks' and madmen's rules."

I cannot imagine one Baptist minister prior to
the 1960s who wouldn't
delight in reading the words of the Reverend Westley Hall's poem. Yet Tyerman
hides behind quotes of the late Dr. Clarke to condemn the Reverend Hall for a
poem most Evangelical Christians would agree with. The quote of Dr. Clarke
without Tyerman raising so much as one objection to its tenor is as follows:
"The whole is a miserable Deistical address, strongly advising his
son to follow the dictates of his own nature, as the best way of fulfilling the
purposes of his Creator."
The word "Deistical" is of note for as early as the 16th century,
Viret recognized the use of the it as a pejorative, an insult, not used to truly
describe a person's beliefs but to label them with a bigoted word which was
widely used against anyone who dared speak against the Church of England.15
As I uncover the facts concerning the Reverend Westley Hall's wives and
children I will add them to this article. It is my hope that others will find
additional information that can be added to this as well.
There is an unbroken timeline of polygamous discussion and practice
all the way from Martin Luther into the nineteenth century and at the very
least, the Wesleys were descendents of those who passed forward some of the most
literary of these discussions.

A final note: The Reverend Westley Hall is accused by Mr. Tyerman of
"deserting Martha." If Billy Graham is guilty of deserting his wife during long
evangelical tours then I will accept that other evangelists are guilty of it but
if Billy Graham is excused of it, then so is the Reverend Hall. Some have
accused the Reverend Hall of leaving his wife without support by citing records
of John Wesley giving financial support to Martha during the period that the
Reverend Hall was away on mission. Considering that the Reverend Hall supported
John & Charles Wesley's own mother for nearly seven years and John & Charles
Wesley's own sister, Kezziah, for about the same number of years, the small
favor of helping him make sure support got to his wife during his missionary
absence was nothing. The fact is that the Reverend Hall was receiving support
from other Christians during his missionary absence and
who more likely to have taken care of his finances during that time than John
Wesley, the brother-in-law whose relatives the Reverend Hall had helped support
for so many years. It was no secret that the wives of ministers and missionaries
were being provided for out of a fund that John Wesley had indeed administered
"as measures had been adopted""to relieve the
preachers from dependence upon secular business for a maintenance, another step
forward for their support, and toward the permanent organization of the lay
ministry, was now taken by the enactment of a regular circuit collection for an
'allowance' to their wives."16
The Reverend Hall, at great risk to life and limb, crossed the
ocean to spread the gospel in Barbados. It appears that two of his wives,
Mrs. E.R. Hall & Mrs. A Hall, accompanied him to Barbados.2 We have no account of why Martha did not wish
to. From the following account of the adventures of the Reverend Westley Hall in
Barbados it's clear that his mission was very dangerous.

"Ten negroes broke into his house; one of whom was upon the point of cutting
his throat when E. R. knocked him down with a pewter pot; which put the rest
into such confusion that she had time to secure herself and her children, and
Mr. H. to leap out of a balcony."

Did the Reverend Hall sin? Of course, but not by taking more than one wife.
I'm not claiming that he was perfect, only that he led just as godly of a life
as his brothers-in-law, the Wesleys.
He practiced what he preached; that polygamy is not forbidden by the Bible. The
Reverend Westley Hall was correct in this as has been proven in many of the
articles on this website.
The Reverend Westley Hall led many to a saving knowledge of Jesus,
not the least of which was Susanna Wesley, mother of the Wesleys. It is my hope
that this article will be the beginning of many articles and possibly even books
that will rehabilitate the reputation of the Reverend Westley Hall that has been
so wrongly tarnished by the slander of men such as Luke Tyerman.
It is of note that after the Reverend Westley Hall went to be with
the Lord that his wife, Martha, enjoyed the company of Dr. Samuel Johnson,
famous in the 18th century for having authored the most popular dictionary of
his era, A Dictionary of the English Language, and his publication,
The Rambler, a twice weekly periodical published from 1750-1752:"She [Martha Westley Hall] dined often with Dr.
Johnson at Bolt-Court; he ardently admired her, and even wished her to reside in
his own house with Mesdames Williams and DuMoulin."17
This is of particular interest since Samuel Johnson had admitted to fantasies of
having a seraglio.(harem)18

1. In a letter dated December 26, 1761, John Wesley, the founder of the
Methodists wrote to his Brother Charles Wesley concerning a number of things.
One of them was the subject of his polygamous brother, the Reverend Westley
Hall.
John Wesley wrote:
"Is it right that my sister Patty should suffer Mr. Hall to live with her? I
almost scruple giving her the sacrament, seeing he does not even pretend to
renounce Betty Rogers."
Notice what John Wesley says, "giving her the sacrament," in reference to
whether he should give his sister Martha (Patty) communion since she stays with
her polygamist husband whose other wife is Betty Rogers. John thinks that Martha
should at least be condemning her husband, which she never did. To have a
brother-in-law who is a polygamist is one thing to John Wesley but that his
sister should never say a word against it is quite another.

2. John Wesley - Wesley Journal, Volume 4
"I was well pleased to have some conversation with Mrs. A------1, lately come
from Barbados. [One of the Reverend Westley Hall's wives and so recognized here
by John Wesley. His lack of condemnation of polygamy here may be in deference to
the fact that this is his journal and not a letter containing personal
opinions.] She [One of Westley Hall's wives] gave me an account of her poor
husband (first a red-hot Predestinarian, talking of God's ' blowing whole worlds
to hell,' then a Quaker, now a Deist); as also of the narrow escape which Mr. H.
lately had : 'Ten negroes broke into his house; one of whom was upon the point
of cutting his throat when E. R. [supposedly Westley Hall's favorite wife]
knocked him down with a pewter pot; which put the rest into such confusion that
she had time to secure herself and her children, and Mr. H. to leap out of a
balcony.'"
Notice that E.R. had children and of course it's likely that all of the Reverend
Hall's wives had children. I will be researching what happened to these
children.
The Reverend Hall was certainly acting in the capacity of a
missionary in Barbados but we are not made aware of who was supporting him.
Unlike the Reverend Martin Madan, the Reverend Westley Hall was not a rich man.
He would have needed support in his mission work. Imagine, an 18th century
Christian missionary who was also a known polygamist and who still received all
the support he needed from the folks back home! Any condemnations by the many
biographers of the Reverend Westley Hall must therefore be expected to answer
the question: If the Reverend Westley Hall was such a horrible person, why did
the ministers and churches with whom he was associated continue to support him,
full well knowing that he lived with more than one wife during his mission to
Barbados as well as during his evangelistic outreaches back home? In regards to the Reverend Hall's change of denominations, that is not
uncommon, even today. We would hope that Christians who read their Bible will
discover a deeper meaning each day and if led by God to another denomination
will follow the Lord's leading. As for the word deist. It is a pejorative, a
word used to insult, which does not carry the dictionary meaning but simply
means one who does not follow the established church which we must admit, at the
time, was the Church of England.

3. Page 386 The Oxford Methodists by Luke Tyerman Copyright 1873

4. Comparisons to "Judas Iscariot" and "Reuben" are given on the opening page of
Luke Tyerman's slanderous account of the Reverend Westley Hall. He refers to the
account of Reverend Westley Hall to be "nauseous." You would think that if the
Reverend Westley Hall were so "nauseous" that at least once in the 42 years that
he was an ordained minister that he would have been publicly condemned by those
that surrounded him. Yet, not once did any of his peers bring charges against
him where two or three could hear.

5. Page 391 The Oxford Methodists by Luke Tyerman Copyright 1873

6. George Whitefield: God's Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the
Eighteenth Century By Arnold A. Dallimore Copyright 1990 Page 45

9. Memoirs of the life of sir Walter Scott by John Gibson Lockhart Copyright
1850 Page 768 Narrative of the Life of James Annesley

10. Page 370 The History of the Religious Movement of the Eighteenth Century,
Called Methodism. Volume 1
By Abel Stevens, LL.D.

11. Page 577 Memoirs of the Wesley Family
By Adam Clarke

12. The details of this case are given in A Complete Collection of State
Trials and Proceedings for High Treason and Other Crimes and Misdemeanors from
the earliest period till the year 1783 by T.B. Howell, Esq. F.R.S.
F.S.A.Copyright 1816

14. Page 209 Some account of the life and writings of John MiltonBy Henry John Todd 1826

15. "'Deist' was a pejorative label first coined by Pierre Viret in the context
of mid sixteenth century confessional debate to indict those, on authority of
their own consciences took it upon themselves to challenge the articles of
Calvinist Orthodoxy." "'Deists', depending upon who used the word about whom,
did not necessarily have any precise content."
The Columbia History of Western Philosophy, ed R.R. Popkin Page 2
Now the fact is that the Reverend Westley Hall was a Calvinist and his only
so-called unorthodoxy was that he accepted what the Bible said, that there was
no sin in taking more than one wife.

16. Page 441 The History of the Religious Movement of the Eighteenth Century,
Called Methodism. Volume 1
By Abel Stevens, LL.D.

17: Page 53 The History of the Religious Movement of the Eighteenth Century,
Called Methodism. Volume 1
By Abel Stevens, LL.D.

18. Samuel Johnson said, "I have often thought that, if I kept a seraglio, the
ladies should all wear linen gowns, or cotton--I Mean stuffs made of vegetable
substances. I would have no silk; you cannot tell when it is clean; it will be
very nasty before it is perceived to be so. Linen detects its own dirtiness."
Page 182 The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL. D.: Together with The Journal of a Tour
to the Hebrides
By James Boswell, ESQ.

Charles Wesley, the most famous Christian hymn writer of all time, had a son named Samuel. Now, Samuel Wesley married a second wife (quite possibly she was his third wife) while his first wife was still living under his roof. Samuel's first son through this polygamous union with Sarah Suter,
who he affectionately called Pexy, was Samuel Sebastian Wesley, the greatest Christian composer of the 19th century.[1]
If you've spent any time in a church pew you will immediately remember Samuel
Sebastian Wesley's famous composition that accompanies the following song:

The church's one Foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord;
She is his new creation
By water and the Word:
From heav'n he came and sought her
To be his holy bride;
With his own blood he bought her,
And for her life he died.

All periods of great revival are preceded by a series of miraculous events. The
revivals of the 18th and 19th centuries were no exception. Although many gifted song writers and composers
contributed to the music of the period, and I'm sure many were accompanied
by their own miracles, this is the story of the miracles concerning the Wesleys and the man who carried on their legacy
both before and after his own death, Martin Madan.
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodists was the 15th of 19
children [miracle 1] born to Susanna Wesley, wife of the Reverend Samuel Wesley. Susanna gave birth four more times
[miracles 2-5]. One of those children was Charles.
Now Martin Madan was an attorney and a great impersonator. One evening when he and his
fellow attorneys were kidding around, one of them challenged him to go watch the famous evangelist, John Wesley, and then
to come back and entertain them with an impression of the great evangelist. That
very night, Martin Madan not only met John Wesley but he was introduced to the Lord Jesus in such a powerful way that it changed his life forever
[miracle 6]. Martin Madan began preaching and teaching the gospel. Now this
powerful conversion of Martin Madan was no exaggeration for he was so interested in reaching the lost for the Lord that he took the chaplaincy of the London Lock Hospital,
the hospital that he himself had founded to treat those afflicted with venereal diseases. He knew
his Lock Hospital was the place where he could not only reach the lost but involve himself
in his music ministry, a ministry
which was to take up the greater portion of his career. It was during this time that he penned the words to the
following famous hymn:

Redeeming Love

Now begin the heav’nly theme,
Sing aloud in Jesus’ Name;
Ye, who His salvation prove,
Triumph in redeeming love.

Ye, who see the Father’s grace
Beaming in the Savior’s face,
As to Canaan on ye move,
Praise and bless redeeming love.

In reading the lyrics to Redeeming Love it's easy to see how songs
such as this, combined with the preaching of God's word by the Reverend Martin
Madan, would pierce even the hearts of lost prostitutes who had nowhere to go
but his London Lock Hospital.
As they lived out their days suffering and often dying from the scourge of
venereal disease they found redemption and then joy in singing praises to God.
The Reverend Martin Madan produced a tract with the heart rending testimony of
one such converted prostitute. On her death bed, writes Madan, the dying woman's
mother asked her, "How can I give you up? My burden is great." To which the
dying penitent replied, "Do like me. Cast your burden upon Christ, and He will
bear it for you."
The Lord blessed Martin Madan's ministry. The very people he
reached through his music ministry and with the gospel, those same lost souls
who were saved, became his choir. Those also who had been cast aside by polite society came to know a greater friendship in the Lord through the Reverend Martin Madan and his
ministry.
The Reverend Martin Madan had inherited great wealth and so with
his own monies he constructed the Lock Chapel and then donated it to the
hospital. His chapel seated 800 and an empty seat was rarely found. The pews were full of both the lowly
and the high born. He became famous for preaching as well as for his choir and
mastery of harmonies. Since the pews were not enough, people would crowd into the aisles and wherever they could hear the message and music.[2]
He preached chastity in the pure form found only in the pages of the Bible such as
has not been heard in any church up to this day. The lives he touched by not
giving in to cultural bigotry but preaching straight from the word cannot be
overstated.
Martin Madan was no stranger to the fact that many, if not most of the prostitutes
suffering from venereal diseases at the London Lock Hospital, were abandoned
mistresses who had been forced to enter prostitution rather than see their children starve. After years
spent ministering to the abandoned and now diseased mistresses of the London
"gentlemen,"
Madan released his book called Thelyphthora [miracle 8]. Attorney that he was,
he put forth his case, from the Bible, that polygamy must be accepted by the church and society.
Part of the book also set forth the case that the men who impregnated these
prostitutes must be forced to support them as wives. His years as an attorney
had served him well. He so forcefully exposed the hypocrisy of the day that his book was met by no
less than 19 rebuttals written by prominent English moralists. None, however,
could match his prowess in biblical exposition and his book remains unmatched to
this day in its full treatment of the arguments favoring the acceptance of
polygamy as a valid form of Christian marriage.
During Martin Madan's years at the Lock Hospital, he produced (at
his own expense) the first hymnal to be widely distributed [miracle 7]. His hymnal contained the hymns of not only the Wesley brothers, but Isaac Watts, George Whitfield, and the other greats of the 18th century. Martin Madan's Hymnal, later to be known as the Lock Hospital Collection, was the very hymnal used in the great Methodist revivals of the Americas. The Baptists didn't even have a hymnal till 25 years later.
Both in England and in America HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of souls were
brought to the Lord through the music reproduced from Martin Madan's hymnal: A
Collection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes Never Published. In
his dedication of the hymnal to the hospital he wrote:

"This Collection of Hymn and Psalm Tunes is presented as a
benefaction to the Hospital, that the profits arising from the sale of it may be
applied for the benefit of the Charity."

His hymnal was sent to the printer on August 18, 1769. Just
thirteen days later, On August 31, 1769, Martin Madan's ten and a half year old
son, William, died. In his elegy to his beloved son Madan wrote:

He stood confess'd his Parent's Joy and Pride,
Nor ever caus'd them Grief but when he dy'd.

Three and a half years before this tragic event, Charles Wesley had
named Martin Madan godfather to his newborn son, Samuel. Now that Madan was
bereaved of his own son, Samuel became the focus of his fatherly attentions.
Soon Samuel was showing not just talent, but greatness. By the age of eight he
had composed the oratorio, Ruth. His musical talent matched his
father's lyrical talent. By this time Madan began to take him along with him on visits to
friends and the two made any Christian gathering a festive musical occasion; the child genius and the famous Madan of the Lock Chapel. As Samuel matured his godfather,
Madan, did not fail to teach him the things he'd written
in Thelyphthora, his pro-polygamy book. It's clear that Samuel agreed with his
godfather for he wrote the following concerning his first wife prior to his licensing their already consummated marriage.

"She is truly and properly my wife by all the laws of God and nature. She never can be made more so by the mercenary tricks of divine jugglers but yet, if a million of ceremonies, repeated myriads of times, by as many successors and imitators of Simon Magus, can serve to make her more happy, or more honourable, I am ready to pay them for their hocus pocus, for I am told that in this evangelical age, the gift of God is not to be purchased without money."[3]

Samuel Wesley had learned well. He knew that no license was needed
to be wed and he learned that he could have more than one wife from the Bible
under his godfather's able instruction.
Now it must be said that many years prior to Samuel's taking Pexy (Sarah Suter) as a wife,
that he may have had another wife but there is little known about her. She was
his sister Sarah's best friend, Anne Dean. One of the reasons that little is known about her may be that Samuel continued the relationship but hid it. We can't know
for certain since there is no physical evidence of their consummating a marriage
as was the case with Pexy, the physical evidence being the 9 children which Pexy bore him.
Charlotte, Samuel Wesley's first wife, was leery from the start of letting Pexy come to live with them as a maid.
Her resistance is understandable considering that Samuel would have been as
vocal concerning the biblical acceptability of polygamy as any of today's Christian polygamists,
after all, his godfather had written the book on Christian polygamy. Pexy's
coming to stay with them would put such a relationship within reach, quite
literally. Despite Charlotte's misgivings, Pexy came to live with them as their
maid and soon after she was pregnant by
Samuel. It was now visibly apparent to Charlotte that her husband had indeed taken Pexy as a wife
[miracle 9]
but Charlotte didn't leave this polygamous relationship immediately. She
remained in what was certainly one of the most unusual of living arrangements of the
day for months after Pexy had conceived. Charlotte Wesley left her husband Samuel by some estimates as late as May of the year 1810. Pexy gave
birth to Samuel Sebastian Wesley, the first child of nine that she would bear to
her polygamous husband, Samuel, in August of the year 1810. It's apparent that Charlotte was considering remaining in this polygamous marriage based
on the fact she remained far beyond the time at which Pexy was visibly pregnant
but such was not to be the case.
Her Victorian upbringing, despite her initial unconventional marriage to Samuel,
won out. Samuel and Pexy's firstborn son, Samuel Sebastian Wesley, went on to be the greatest composer of Christian hymns of the 19th century.
Without Martin Madan's hymnal the revivals to follow would have
been delayed. Without his teachings on polygamy, the greatest Christian composer
of the 19th century would not have been born.
What may be the most amazing miracle of all is that Samuel
Sebastian Wesley, Samuel's son through Pexy, was never considered illegitimate
by the church or society [miracle 10] and Samuel was recognized as being married
to Pexy despite the fact that he remained legally married to Charlotte
throughout his life. The hypocrisy of today's churches is in stark contrast to
the churches of that time in that fornicating ministers and musicians, even
adulterers and adulteresses, are tolerated today but one who might take a wife without
a license or take a second wife while still married to the first wife are cast aside
as useless.
Samuel Wesley, the son of Charles Wesley, the greatest hymn writer of
the 18th century, was indeed the most famous polygamist to worship the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob since Solomon. Samuel Wesley, the most famous
Christian polygamist of all time.

Coming soon! Read how the sister of John Wesley, founder of the Methodists, married a polygamist. Read how it wasn't Martin Madan who introduced polygamy to the Wesleys but it was likely the events in the life of John Wesley's sister that opened Martin Madan's eyes to this subject.

Note: Copyright 2006 Pastor Don Milton
The Wesleys have categorized their correspondence in great detail and copies of them are available through various church, educational, and commercial establishments. Much of the information in books about the Wesleys has been gleaned from these letters.
Footnotes:
[1] Page 5 Samuel Sebastian Wesley: A Life (Oxford Studies in British Church Music) by Peter Horton (Hardcover - May 6, 2004)
[2] John Wesley in a letter to Samuel Sparrow - December 28, 1773. "Vast numbers crowd Blackfriars church and the chapel at the Lock"
[3] Samuel Wesley to his mother - November 7, 1792 [Rylands DDWF 15/5]

The author, H.D.M. Spence, criticizes King David for
something that the Bible NEVER criticized him for, polygamy. The Bible says in 1
Kings 15:5 that

"David did [that which was] right in the eyes of the LORD, and turned not aside
from any [thing] that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in
the matter of Uriah the Hittite."

The author disagrees with the Bible when he writes,

"David’s public and private career was necessarily the better for the presence
in his home of such a woman, {Abigail} though the elevating influence of her
character was impaired by his adoption of polygamy. Many are the counteracting
influences under which the best of men develope, and Scripture, by thus calling
attention to David’s domestic affairs, gives us a clue to some of the
circumstances amidst which his virtues and failings appeared."

Again he writes:

"Yet it is open to us to note how, at a time when polygamy was “winked at,” and
no sin was necessarily to lie on this account at the door of David, yet by this
very thing he was undermining the peace and unity of his own family."

This is double speak. On the one hand Spence says that "no sin was necessarily
to lie on this account at the door of David" and on the other he says that David
was "undermining the peace and unity of his own family" and that David
"impaired" Abigail's "elevating influence." To this I ask, Does Spence think
that Abigail was so base as to let her husband David's marriage to additional
wives keep her from maintaining a right relationship with her husband and with
the Lord? By accusing David he acuses Abigail. Neither can defend themselves here but I would say that the
Psalms are quite a defense in themselves against attacks by those who prostrate
themselves at the Golden Calf of Monogamy. It is clear in the Psalms that David
understood more about a right relationship with the Lord than any of us. Can I get an Amen to that?

Sin is what the Bible calls sin and the Bible never calls polygamy a sin. The
nation of Israel came from four wives of the same man. I suppose that Jacob
sinned by carrying out the Lord's plan to bless him? To believe such a thing
borders on anti-Semitism. By focusing on polygamy and claiming that it was the
cause of so many a biblical character's downfall, our eyes are turned away from
our own sinful nature as a reason for failure. We are become like the man who
stood in front of the temple and prayed "God, I thank thee, that I am not as
other men [are], extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican."
Christians should pray like the publican whom Jesus praised, "God be merciful to
me a sinner."

If you like cultural pap disguised as theology then you will like what Spence
has written. If you prefer the truth then find a good Bible and you'll learn
that neither Christian monogamy nor Christian polygamy are taught but simply
Christian marriage which includes the right of a man to have more than one such
marriage at the same time.

Please note that my comments should never be construed to question any author's salvation nor should any reader here question my salvation if they in like fashion disagree with me on the topic of marriage.

If you have questions or comments concerning this article please
click here to send a message to Pastor Don.

It's not surprising that we live in a nation of harlots since
most ministers can't even define the word harlot or tell you where it first
occurred in the Bible. The primary reason for this is that they fear teaching
chastity from the Bible because it requires them to teach from the Old Testament
and if they teach from the Old Testament they'll have to admit that polygamy is
not a sin or lie by claiming that it is. In order to avoid either of those, they
just don't teach chastity from the Bible. Instead, they rely on societal taboos but today, those taboos have vanished and without "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God"* their flock is defenseless against the onslaught of permissive messages from American society.

The first use of the word harlot concerned Dinah, Jacobs daughter. She had been
taken for sexual relations without the benefit of marriage by a Hivite prince named
Shechem. Genesis 34:2 Shechem dearly loved Dinah for the Bible tells us, "his
soul cleaved to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman, and
spoke kindly to the young woman. And Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying,
Get me this young woman for my wife! Genesis 34:3,4

Now when the sons of Jacob discovered that Shechem, the Hivite prince, had defiled their sister by having sex with her without marrying her first, they killed all the Hivite men, and explained the reason to Jacob their father, saying:

"Should he deal with our sister as with a harlot?" Genesis 34:31

Let's look at what happened to cause Jacob's sons to say that Dinah had been
dealt with by Shechem as a harlot? What had Shechem done with Dinah? He'd had
sex with her without the benefit of marriage. That's it. There are no claims
that she resisted or that he forced himself upon her. Now you have the
definition of harlot; a woman who has sex without the benefit of marriage, so
let's look at how much worse it is to have sex with a boyfriend than to be paid
to have sex.

"And the contrary is in you from other women in your whoredoms, whereas none
follow you to commit whoredoms: and in that you give a reward, and no reward is
given to you, therefore you are contrary." Ezekiel 16:34

So we have the Lord stating here that a woman who gives a reward to the man who
she has sex with is worse than the woman who is paid to have sex. This doesn't
mean it's not a sin to have sex for money. It is a sin. But horrible sin that
selling your body is, it is a worse sin to give it away! Do you know any women
who give presents to their boyfriends? Have you given gifts to your boyfriend?
Has your girlfriend given gifts to you? When women have sex with their
boyfriends and give them gifts they are the worst kind of harlots according to
the Bible.

The Lord says of such women:

Ezekiel 16:35,36 Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD: Thus saith the
Lord GOD; Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered
through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy
abominations, (today - materialism) and by the blood of thy children, (today -
abortion) which thou didst give unto them; Behold, therefore I will gather all
thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all [them] that thou hast
loved, with all [them] that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about
against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all
thy nakedness.

There is no difference between the women of today who have
abortions or take RU-486, the abortion pill, and the women in Old Testament
times who sacrificed their live newborns at the alter of Molech. Today's woman
has simply switched gods. Instead of sacrificing to Molech, she sacrifices to
the god of materialism and convenience.

This nation is full of women who have sex outside of marriage (the Bible
calls them whores and harlots) and
who give gifts to the men who fornicate with them. Half of the country is or has
been a harlot or fornicator. If you still haven't understood what the Bible
teaches concerning harlotry, let me make a final attempt to clarify. If you are a woman who lost her virginity prior to
marriage and it was not due to rape, you are a harlot; a
whore. You've heard of Rahab the harlot? Well if you're what I just described
then you're ___________ the harlot. Just fill in the blank with your name.

Why have I focused on American harlots and fornicators in
this article? Because the United States has one of the highest percentages of
"Christians" of any nation in the world and yet it also has one the highest
percentages of harlots and fornicators in the world. Our ministers, however, are
not the only ones responsible for this decline. Every person who considers their
self a Christian is responsible for their own behavior. Most homes have more
than one Bible. Anyone reading this as an Internet article has online access to
hundreds of Bibles. There is no excuse for any Christian not to know what the
Bible teaches about chastity. Paul said, "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the
body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body." 1
Corinthians 6:18 But you can't flee fornication if you don't know what it is.
This is why it is absolutely necessary that all Christians familiarize
themselves with all the teachings in the Bible concerning chastity.

In addition to the the sin of harlotry and fornication, harlots and fornicators
who call themselves Christians are causing others to stumble by their poor example of what Christians are.

Now if you're a harlot or a fornicator, or a minister or brother or sister in
Christ who
has failed to teach chastity in accordance with the Bible, I'm telling you this
for a reason. I want you to know that you have sinned and you have sinned
greatly. I want you to know this so that you will be led to turn from your sins, turn to God, and begin reading and
teaching from the bible. The American form of harlotry, where women give their boyfriends presents
and shack up with them, even paying rent and car payments, is the WORST kind of
harlotry as I have outlined here but the Lord is still able and anxious to forgive. Are you able and
anxious to accept that forgiveness? Can you accept what is taught in the Bible
that there is a right way and a wrong way to have sex and that the right way is
in marriage? Are you ready to turn away from sin and turn to the Lord? Maybe
you're already saved but just don't realize the depth of forgiveness that the
Lord has given you. If you'll think about how He has forgiven you for crimes
worse than those that a prostitute commits then you can experience the great
love and thankfulness that those of us who have sinned greatly feel toward the
Lord when we accept His forgiveness. Don't try to hide your sins from yourself
no matter what those sins have been. Let the Lord "hide His face" (psalm 51:9)
from those sins and cleanse
you from all unrighteousness. He'll not only hide His face from them, He'll take them away as
"far as the east is from the west." Psalm 103:12 It is His power and His grace that is made
even more awesome when we see the great sins that He has freed us from.

If you are a harlot or fornicator let it be said about you:

Such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:11

For:

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now, no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:1

May the psalmist's prayer be yours:

"Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine
iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within
me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me [with thy] free
spirit. [Then] will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be
converted unto thee." Psalms 51:9-13 Praise the Lord!

Will you join me in teaching transgressors the ways of the Lord so that sinners
can be converted?

Shame on those ministers who read but don't preach the Bible. They
are stumbling blocks. May each of us know the greatness of God's salvation by
understanding the depth of our own depravity. In this way we can know His great love
for us. May you and I learn every day how great the Lord's love is when He shows
us the error of our ways. Better yet, may He deliver us from temptation!. Amen?
Amen!

A final word:

You alone are responsible for the path you take. Despite the
guilt of any minister or other Christian in failing to teach you from the Bible,
you have a Bible yourself and may read from it at any time.

May
your prayer again be as the psalmist's:

Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. Psalm
119:35

Note: If this article has helped you in your decision to take a closer walk with the Lord, please
click here to tell Pastor Don.

If you're not sure what the Prince of Sumba is about, the following excerpts will give you the flavor. If you like it, please read. For now it's available for viewing on this website.

I'll begin this section with a few paragraphs that I think you'll like. I'll follow those with a chapter by chapter excerpting of what you can find here on this website.

~~~~~~~

For a moment there was silence. Then Sarapita,
my precious bride, spoke.

"My prince. May I be as a shadow when there is light and as a dream
at night, ever with you. May you know that I love you even when I don't say it,
and may you know that you are as the Lord to me. May you know that your greatest
hopes are mine as I pray that our Lord shall guide you. I am yours. The cloth
for the tokens of my virginity has been placed upon our bed of love. Take me
now."

If a man can still live without breathing, I am proof. As I looked
upon Sarapita that first night of love there was no room left within me for
anything but her. She immersed me in a most splendid suffocation. Her scent
filled my lungs, her kisses stopped my breathing, and her love beat within my
heart. May every man who loves the Lord experience such a love as this.

There were some however, who called themselves brothers, yet like Jonah were "angry with us enough to die" and would have preferred to continue wasting water on a "withering vine."

But it came to pass that the Lord's Spirit was poured out upon us. He softened our hearts so that we might "take away the reproach" of our women and "prepare the way of the Lord" for that great opening of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

Suni, in sharp contrast to the delapidated sari-sari store, looked more like a fashion model than a poor roadside vendor. Her lips were glossed and her fingernails glistened in the sun. When she walked her toes would peek out from her long skirt revealing their stylish pedicure and then hide themselves again. Her hips swayed each time she came around the corner to put another snack in front of us. I know. Such things are to be far from a missionary's mind but that was why I was so blessed to have Mary, my wife. It seems my youthful drive had never left me. I knew that I must be a married man or face the possibility of fornication and disgrace each time a beauty such as Suni sauntered by.

Among themselves pastors tend to be fond of joking and making puns. A pastor's congregation often takes him so seriously that it isn't kosher to kid, so he relishes getting visits from other pastors who can cut the mustard and in this way he avoids getting into a pickle with his congregation.

Then I smelled it, a stench!
I said to Mary, "Do you smell that?"
She sniffed, "Eww, what is it!"
We both sniffed again to try to determine the location of the
smell, then Mary looked at me with one of those crooked little expressions she
gets.
She leaned over and whispered, "It's you!"
She was right. It was me! My body had not yet accustomed
itself to the tropical climate. I guess you could say my clothes were beginning
to ferment. Fortunately, Tony had left our bags sitting next to the door and I
got out a change of clothes. I hurried to one of their many bathrooms and
showered. Intay, one of the maids, walked by the bathroom just as I was coming
out. I was wearing my clean change of clothing and was no longer ashamed, so I
asked her help.
"Excuse me, could you be so kind as to put my dirty clothes in the
wash?"
She squatted next to the clothes, poked them with one end of her
broom stick and said, "Eww!"
Apparently she'd been watching when Mary and I had discovered the
smell. Sisiw, one of the other maids, went into the bathroom and knelt down next
to Intay to help her. She held the dust pan while Intay pushed my clothes in
with her broom stick. Pretending that my clothes carried some contagious
disease, she yanked her fingers back and squealed when the clothes nearly
touched them. Both maids now looked up at me, repeating in unison the new word
they'd learned, "Eww!" In their scrunched down positions they now fell backwards
laughing. I couldn't help but laugh with them.
"I'm Ish." I said as I reached down with both hands to help them up
to their feet.
"I'm Intay and this is Sisiw."
Sisiw matter-of-factly lifted up my arm now and sniffed my armpit. "Ah, much
better. Your wives will be very happy now. Ah, sorry sir, I mean your wife will
be very happy now." They giggled all the more.
"Please just call me Ish." I wasn't sure whether Sisiw was kidding
with the 'wives' comment or if it really was a slip of the tongue.
I remembered the missionary who was sent home for insulting the
hotel clerk. I said a silent prayer for him right then that he'd stop taking the
little things in life too seriously and start enjoying life's blessings. How
wonderful it is when the help can make fun without fearing for their jobs. My
request to take my clothes to the laundry had become an introduction to a pair
of adorable young ladies.

I don't know why they called the after service get togethers "coffees." The members put more cream into those cups than coffee. o­ne of the young ladies joked with me,

"Do you take coffee in your cream or do you drink it white?"

"Black," I said.

"Black cream!" she giggled, "Whoever heard of such a thing?"

She grasped my hand as she poured the hot coffee into my cup, not wanting to scald me with it. You could tell how much this opportunity to mingle and kid around meant to her. Was she flirting with me or was it simply my fertile imagination that noticed a slight wink as she turned to serve the others?

My tears gushed from my eyes. I could barely get out the words, "Excuse me."

Suni took me to her apartment where I sat down for a few minutes and wept privately.

Mary walked in and said, "What's the problem, Ish?"

I started to try to tell her but the tears started gushing again. Sam was standing outside the door so Mary went out to ask him.

"It's about Hope; how she's brought hundreds to a saving knowledge of our Savior."

I could hear Mary whisper to Sam, "Oh, Ish is always crying about something. He'll get over it."

Mary didn't realize I could hear her. It cut me deep. Not because it was disrespectful to me but because of the way my wife had reacted to Hope, the greatest evangelist I had ever met. How could it be that Mary had no awe for the great power that God had given that woman?

Sam walked over, "Now that you've gotten to know the ladies, don't you think it's time for a Bible study? The girls have been waiting for this moment."

"Sure," I said, "But I'll need some water first."

Suni already had it poured. "My father used to cry when he preached." She said. "I was responsible for the water. He'd go through two liters in o­ne sermon."

Suni's caring words warmed me. "C'mon Ish. The other girls are waiting." Suni took my hand and led me out to the center of the courtyard.

"All right, since I have a volunteer, I'd like to use
her. Come over here Sexy." I was certain that
calling Suni by her nickname, "Sexy" would keep the crowd's attention and it
did. A slight tittering of "uhhhhh~" could be heard again from the girls in the
audience.
"You're going to be the single lady, Sexy. Stand over there."
Sexy put on a pouting face.
"I wanted to be the married lady!" She said, stomping her feet like
a spoilt toddler.
"Yes, let her be the married lady!" The girls shouted.
No more had I gotten out the words,
"Okay, so you're the married lady." than Suni said,
"Who's my husband?"
Exasperated I replied,
"Okay, so you want a husband. Let's see, who do you argue with
most."
"I'm arguing with you right now." She snapped.
Again the crowd interrupted with their chorus of "uhhhh~"
"Okay, so you're my wife."
"Whatcha want for dinner honey?"
I turned to the side shaking my head. Sexy was a natural when it
came to tickling the crowd. I could barely keep a straight face. My wife, Mary,
was watching from the front row and having just as much fun watching Sexy
pretend to be my wife as Sexy was having playing the part.
"All right, all right, let's get on with this."
"Well we better. We're married. If we don't get on with this you'll
have me to deal with when we get home."
The girls giggled. I looked out at them scratching my head.
"Does she always act like this?"
"Oh not at all," Asina shouted, her voice ever loud, "she's never
been married before. Maybe you should try making up with her."
"Yes, let's kiss and make up." Sexy pouted again.
"Well, you guys, like it or not, I'm going to get on with this."
"I knew you'd agree." Sexy closed her eyes and puckered her lips.
"That's not what I'm talking about!"
The ladies roared with laughter.
Sexy and I couldn't have put on a better show had we planned it.
But this was supposed to be a Bible study and I was determined not to let their
desire for entertainment stop me from my duties.
"Sexy, I know you're enjoying being my wife but I've got to get on
with my duties."
"Oh, aren't you fresh!"
"Fresh? What are you talking about, Sexy?"
"Isn't it a little bit early in the day to be performing your
marital duties."
"This is nuts. Okay, you're my wife. That means that I have rights
too. Like to ignore you while I read the newspaper."
"I thought this was a Bible study."
"It is, it is a Bible study."
"Ya see, sometimes it takes a wife to set things straight. How are
ya feeling now that I've helped unconfuse you?"
The girls were in fits of laughter by now. I just had to ignore
Sexy for the moment and continue as if she weren't there. I did as best I could
to compose myself.

As the members of Sam's church and the volunteers from
other churches went among the crowd, the newly saved were crying out with sobs
of repentance and praises to Jesus for His Free Gift of Salvation. I could hear
continued shouts and screams of "Alleluia" and "Thank you Jesus" each time one
of them rose out of the baptismal. It's astounding how the mouths of new
converts can be so suddenly filled with praises for God.
Those who had come simply to see what all the noise was about were each having
their own face to face with God's Spirit as the Lord's Presence continued to
move powerfully through the crowd.
"Unclean, I'm unclean!" A nun screamed as she ran to the front of the stage.
"I'm full of pride! Help me. I hate Born Agains! I'm in bondage to rules but
have never known the Lord. Pray for me father."
I stepped down for a moment to speak with her, microphone attached.
"I'm not your father. Other than the man who conceived you with your mother you
have just one Father and He is in heaven."
"Blasphemy! I'm a blasphemer!" She shouted. "I have called the pope Holy Father.
The pope is a blasphemer!" She now shouted.

I had heard about the brass market. It was a
place where mountain men and lowlanders mixed in a clattering of brass from all
over the island. Sam said we might inquire as to some remote places to go where
the inhabitants weren't entirely hostile to "foreign missionaries." Our purpose
for coming here, after all, had been to go on a mission. What better way than to
spontaneously set out in search of adventure?
As we got closer to the market the pot holes increased as well as
the noise. I had a hard time telling between the the clattering of Sam's truck
and the chattering of my teeth. Had I really had that much dental work? Now I
understood what Paul meant when he said in his letter to the Corinthians that
practicing gifts without love is as sounding brass. What a racket! Between the
pounding in the brass market and Sam's Ford Fiera growing ever closer to its
final bump, I was able to make out that one joyous sentence from Sam.
"There's a parking stall. Shall I pull in?"
"PLEASE!" We shouted in unison.
"Well it's good to hear that we're all of one voice!" Sam shouted
back.
We beeped and edged our way past carts and vegetables laid out on
woven mats to squeeze into what I was sure would be the final resting spot for
Sam's truck. The sputtering sound when he turned off the key convinced me that
we'd surely have to find another mode of transportation for our return home.

Ruth now opened the huge decorative oyster shell that was in the
middle of her platter. There were tiny oysters floating in sauce.
"Oysters in cashew sauce with ginger and diced lamb. This is our
customary dish for a groom on his wedding night, and this time I'm not kidding,
Ish."
As well I knew. All four ingredients were high in zinc. I
remembered what I had studied; that the Israelite men were believed to have been
extremely fertile because of their high intake of lamb. I wondered, why was Ruth
feeding me as if it were my wedding night? Did she have plans for me? or did
they simply have a custom to feed their guest of honor by the hand of their most
beautiful maiden.
Ruth raised the spoon again to my lips. It was exquisite. I could
taste each ingredient and yet they combined into something entirely different. I
let her feed me till I had finished all of it. She then put her delicate fingers
into the sauce that remained in the bottom of the oyster shell and pulled out a
small pearl. Wiping it with a cloth, she handed it to me.
"This is for you to remember this day."
"Thank you Ruth, I will."
I wondered if there was some hidden meaning behind Ruth's gesture
with the pearl. Nonetheless, I would remember this day. I couldn't help but
think that John had given me the highest honor a guest could have; to be
entertained by his maiden daughter.

"Back to your family, John. We want to make sure you know that
even if we disagree with you concerning your marrying more than one wife;" Mary
paused, looking at me as if seeking some outward sign of agreement. I gave none.
She continued. "We want to know everything about your family and couldn't
imagine you having even one wife less."
The applause were now for Mary. Everyone stood and one of John's
older sons shouted,
"A toast for Mary, 'Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a
woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.'"
"Here here," another son said, "and give her of the fruit of her
hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates."
Ruth completed the stream of thought by quoting one more verse from
proverbs,
"She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of
kindness."
At that, a tear began to form in one of Mary's eyes. She was not
used to such compliments and certainly not to being the center of attention.
Asina now showed her softer side using humor to get Mary out of the spotlight.
She proudly quoted Proverbs again.<br>
"'She layeth hold of the spindle, and holds the rod for spinning
thread.' Mary, you don't suppose you could help me sew this button back onto my
blouse." She held up a button which she'd secretly removed just for effect.
Now Mary was laughing and so were the rest of us. I was impressed
with Asina's character. In fact, I was impressed with everyone I'd met since
setting foot on this island.

"Well then who do you propose, no pun intended, that Adam
married?" I had to ask.
"Well Mr. Joker," Ruth replied, "He could have married his
daughter, his granddaughter, his great granddaughter or any of his various
progeny because incest wasn't banned until Moses received the law on Mount
Sinai. My point in this discussion is simply that there is no logic in claiming
that Adam had only one wife based on the false premise that God created only one
woman. God created every woman who was born to Eve. God likely created dozens,
if not hundreds, of women before Seth was born. He 'created them' through Adam
and Eve, and it is likely that he also 'created them' through Adam and his
female progeny. After all, the pastors always say that Cain and Seth must have
married their own sisters. Why would they make that conclusion with such ease
but cannot consider the possibility that Adam married his own daughters. He did
have other daughters as the Bible clearly states and it does not stipulate that
he had those daughters only after the birth of Seth, or Abel or even Cain for
that matter. He could have had them fifty or even a hundred years before the
birth of Cain. Now let's keep in mind that Adam's daughters probably begged him
to give them children and especially if they were born that many years before
any male children were born. We see in the story of Lot's daughters, when they
were confronted with what appeared to be a world without men, that they took
their father as their husband. They bore children, Moab and Ammon, and there was
no condemnation of their making love with him. This is because their union took
place before such relations were forbidden. In fact, the Lord set aside a
portion for the children of Lot; the land of Ar. Listen to what Lot's daughters
said:
And the firstborn said unto the younger, 'Our father is old, and
there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the
earth.'
They go on to say:
'We will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.'
You'll find that in Genesis 19:31&32"
Ruth surely had the gift of Biblical exegesis but she wasn't
finished making her point.

John now turned to Ruth.
"Could you please read what Princess Kasmina wrote in the memoirs
that she gave to Tika when they met?"
"Sure daddy." John took out the now well worn papers that he had
tucked inside his pocket and handed them to Ruth.
"Prince John did more than warm the hearts of his admirers. He knew
well the spell he could cast with a smile and I, Princess Kasmina, was not
immune to his charms. I treasure still the small gifts he gave me as a child.
Ever since I was a little girl my heart beat faster when the prince approached.
I dreamed of Prince John at night and when I awoke my daydreams of him would
begin. I dreamed of riding off into the sunset on royal stallions, the prince
escorting me through his island paradise. I dreamed of ascending mountain peaks,
John at my side, to gaze at distant islands embraced by the sea's warm blue
waters. Would that I were one of those islands and John were the sea. Tall and
strong, John should be mine! However this could not be. All the palace
princesses knew John was first in line to the throne. As such, he was expected
to take many foreign princess brides to strengthen the now delicate alliance.
Yet Prince John was all my little heart desired. Only the year before John's
manly voyage, I, Princess Kasmina, was a little girl. Now I was thirteen and
required to wear a veil since I was of marriageable age. Though a princess
rarely marries that young, the veil was our custom and I looked forward to
wearing it as an indication that I was a maiden. I was convinced Prince John was
secretly in love with me and I prayed five times daily that he would defy custom
and take me as his bride. I wished I could run away to return secretly behind my
veil as one of his 'foreign' brides. I knew he could easily keep me in his harem
without anyone's knowing my true identity. After all, it would be better to have
one tenth of John then 100% of any other man. Alas, poor Kasmina, I knew only
too well that I could never bring up such a plan to the prince for the mere
doing so would be scandalous and would lower me in his eyes. It was my lot to
keep my love for John as secret as my dreams. I wondered if he could see the
loving looks I gave him from behind my sheer veil as I looked at him adoringly
each time we spoke. I wanted to shout out my love for him but destiny had other
plans. There would be a husband for me, that one and only, who had truly been
selected by the hand of the Lord. I still pray five times a day for John, not
that I may have him but that he would continue on his pursuit of the destiny
that the Lord has placed before him. The Lord has already led him to many
destinies. I have met some of them."
As Ruth read these last words of Princess Kasmina's memoirs, a loud
crashing came from the hallway. John's four wives as well as Mary, fell into the
room. Apparently they'd all been leaning against the door listening. They got up
giggling and John's wife, Tika, feigned a swoon.
"Wow, I'm a destiny!"
At this, we all broke into a fit of laughter. The tension that had
been building in John's story, the women falling through the door, and Tika's
comment, had all combined into a funny bone elixir more potent than John's
mountain grown coffee. After each of us had thoroughly discovered the others'
particular way of giggling, moaning, chuckling, and guffawing, we gained our
composure.

I woke up early enough to see the sun rising over this island of mystery as surely as I had seen it set behind Captain Stephen's ship the night before. I greeted the day sensing we were not far from the treasures we sought. I knew the crew didn't share my enthusiasm for exploration but Captain Stephen wasn't going to let me, a prince, return from my manly voyage empty handed, so after a healthy breakfast we started out with determination.

"Praise God!"
"Alleluia"
"The Lord is wonderful!"
The table erupted with shouts. I'd never heard such a joyous
commotion.
"Excuse us John!" Sarapita was dancing as she laughed and sang,
shaking a tambourine. "We've never heard this story before. It's so wonderful.
God has blessed us so much that you brought this book. We were told of its
existence but only now do we know its wonder!"
Sarapita's voice was like nothing I'd ever heard. The melody and
words sang praises to an Almighty that I had known far too little. She sang with
joy of His love and of His forgiveness. She sang as if He Himself were holding
her in His hand as she danced, and truly, it were as if suspended in air, she
moved about.

"Tatang proclaims:
'My daughter is yours. May the Lord bless you and keep you...safe
from those who wish to harm you. May your wives bless you with many children and
let their arguments be over you, not with you. The maidens Zuah and Saldexa
shall be your only guests at Sarapita's Coming of Age party since she is yours
already. Love her and love your other wives for that is the command of the Lord.
I am a happy father this night. May you and your wives live to see each one of
your many children celebrate such an evening.'"
Now Zuah and Saldexa quickly checked their work.
"Make sure there is no dirt on him. He must be spotless for the
princess." Zuah warned.
They each looked over my face as if I were a child going to Sunday
school. They were searching for the tiniest imperfection, a misplaced hair, a
piece of dandruff. They even sniffed me.
"Umm!" Saldexa said as she pinched my cheek. "He looks good!"
"Num!" said Zuah, "Ang sarap!" (tasty)
What was I? A man or a boy, or a piece of food? I felt like all of
that, but when Sarapita entered the room singing and dancing to the music which
was playing outside the marriage chamber I was a groom on fire for his bride!
I had only seen such artistry in the hand crafted music boxes that my
mother kept. Sarapita missed not one beat, nor was any note untrue as she sang
and danced around me. Her performance lasted hours but I cannot tell you any
more about it or I might cause the men here to sin by coveting her.

I sent my maids in to attend to Sulpicia's
needs. After they'd finished bathing her I could hear her pleading with them to
leave.
"Please go, I'm just a simple girl. John loves me as I am. What?
What is this? Mm, delightful, and this? Ah."
I chuckled to myself. They had presented her with my gifts;
colognes and lotions of the kind found only on night stands of princesses and
rich men's wives. Amazing what the right gifts can do to a simple girl. One
moment a girl, the next a princess. As they applied the lotion to my Sulpicia's
ticklish back, I could hear her giggling. She inhaled deeply as they anointed
her arms and ankles with cologne.
"Am I to be in chains!" She nearly set me running in to see what
was wrong.
"No, no princess. You must not be naked as a peasant on your
wedding night." I could overhear the maids. "You must wear these."
"They're heavy. Too heavy, what is this?"
"It is gold, pure gold. If you do not want them we cannot force
you."
"Oh no, please. Put them on me. Oh, they're so heavy!"
"Your lord's love is heavy for you. We do not know where he got
these but there are no such chains in the kingdom. Surely he loves you dearly."
The maids amused me. They had told Sulpicia that she must wear her
bank around her wrists, ankles, and neck. The reason that they believed there
were none like them in the kingdom was because my other wives kept theirs safely
locked away. Seventy pounds of gold is a bit much to wear, even for a princess.

There are now over seven million "Born Again" Christians in the Philippines. It has been one of the most fertile fields for evangelism in the history of mankind. Today, they are facing a crisis of epic proportions. There are nearly two million more women who are Born Again Christians in the Philippines than men!

The Born Again Christian ministers of the Philippines continue to commit a grave sin by denying these women husbands. As all Christians know, we are not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, however, these "ministers," claiming annointing from God, are denying these women husbands by forbidding them to become second or third wives to Born Again Christian men who are willing to marry them.

These pastors continue to fall into the trap that the government controls marriage. The Bible defines marriage and any pastor who refuses to teach this is bowing to Rome.

The number of Born Again Christian women in the Philippines is only going to increase in numbers as well as in the percent of believers. The primary reason that their numbers will grow is that Single Born Again Christian Women primarily evangelize other single women. To evangelize men would be to participate in what has been referred to as "flirty fishing."

Since single Born Again Christian women primarily evangelize other single women, the numbers of single women who cannot find a husband in Philippine Born Again churches will continue to increase as new women converts take their places in the churches with no end in sight. (We are praising GOD that there are new converts! We are simply not happy with what the pastors are telling them, that there are no husbands for them which is a lie.) It is conceivable that within 5 years that the number of Born Again Christian ladies in the Philippines who exceed the number of Born Again Christian men will reach 5 million!

We'll be considering outreach programs and solutions for these women in upcoming articles on this site but our first plea is to Philippine pastors. Stop treating your single women like dirt. They are not just a statistic. With current trends there will be more unmarried Born Again Christian women in your churches than all other members put together, if that isn't already the case. Do you have the courage to deal with this in accordance with the Bible or will you continue the hardness of your hearts? Are you going to give these women no alternative but to marry outside the church? If you do this then you are just as guilty of their fornication as they are and you may multiply that guilt times the number of them that have taken that as their only alternative. If you are a Born Again Christian Pastor in the Philippines and would like to discuss this issue confidentially with me. Please contact me by clicking the link below:

My name is
Ishmael David. Of course it's an unusual name for a gentile believer. My
grandfather named me, and when he did, he also blessed me, and prophesied. He prophesied that I would be a rebellious youth but would return to the fold and enjoy the good fruit of repentance and joy in the Lord.[1] That prophecy came true. He also prophesied that I would be a witness to the Asiatic peoples. That is what this story is about. Not about me but about all of us who took part in that greatest of awakenings the world has seen since God's great Gift walked among us over 2000 years ago. We
witnessed with inexpressible joy the pouring out of God's Spirit upon those millions upon millions of lost souls
who found the Truth for which they had been longing.[2] There were some however, who called themselves brothers, yet like Jonah were "angry with us enough to die" and would have preferred to continue wasting water on a "withering vine."[3] But it came to pass that the Lord's Spirit was poured out upon us. He softened our hearts so that we might "take away the reproach" of our women[4] and "prepare the way of the Lord" for that great opening of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.[5] All of us who were there, wish to express our gratitude that we were not alone in our mission but that some of you prayed with us and for us as the miraculous events I am about to describe unfolded. To those of you who have thwarted us in this work of the Lord, the prophet says, "come out of her"[6] for if you do not know that "it is not the Lord's will that anyone should perish, but everyone come to repentance" then you have lost sight of the Lord's love and of His patience.[7] Let us give thanks and praise to our Lord whose Spirit moved upon us so that those who had sought in vain to find a righteous witness were finally presented with His pure gospel, untainted by cultural bigotry.[8] Let us be thankful and in awe of God's great mercy in that He has been patient with our stubbornness so that we have lived to see the day that "the Branch of the Lord" was restored.[9] Let us be thankful that after many long years of hardened hearts the Lord has seen fit to open us to His will so that His Spirit could be poured out upon our new brothers and sisters in the Lord as was His plan from the beginning. Finally I praise God that He has seen fit to let me be part of that great moving of His Spirit. Standing shoulder to shoulder with millions of newborn believers singing praises to His Name has left me with a most indescribable joy! If you still have not "come out of her," that great apostate church, that "great whore of Babylon,"[10] which includes those who protest yet revel in her abominations, listen to the words of the prophet: "And
I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye
be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."[11] Let the Lord judge your heart and find it true for He has said, "If you are not with Me you are against Me."[12] Our prayers and the prayers of our new found brothers and sisters in the Lord, and there are billions, are with you who read these pages. May you be with the Lord as His plan continues to unfold, always guided by His holy Word for "He will
lift you up."[13]

The narrative you are about to read has been written as if the Great Awakening described in this prologue has not yet taken place. You will be presented with facts and figures as well as descriptions of places that may no longer be the same. It has been many years since first I set foot on Mindanao but we shall begin there. May you be blessed.
Click Here to Begin Reading Chapter 1 - Mission Mindanao

[1]Luke 8:15
But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having
heard the word, keep [it], and bring forth fruit with patience.
[2]Joel 2:28
And it shall come to pass afterward, [that] I will pour out my spirit upon all
flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream
dreams, your young men shall see visions.
[3]Jonah 3:10-Jonah 4:1
And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented
of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did [it] not.
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
Jonah 4:5-7
So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there
made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would
become of the city. And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made [it] to come up
over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his
grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. But God prepared a worm when
the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.
Psalms 37:2
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
[4]Isaiah 4:1
And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our
own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take
away our reproach.
Note: Mass conversions of women to Christianity began in the 20th century. By the beginning of the 21st century there were more than double the number of Born-Again Christian women in the Philippines than Born-Again Christian men.
[5]Isaiah 40:3
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
[6]Rev 18:4
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that
ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
[7]2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but
is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance.
[8]Hebrews 11:4By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by
which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his
gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
Jam 3:17
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle,
[and] easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without
partiality, and without hypocrisy.
[9]Isaiah 4:2-6
In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the
fruit of the earth [shall be] excellent and comely for them that are escaped of
Israel. And it shall come to pass, [that he that is] left in Zion, and [he that]
remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, [even] every one that is written
among the living in Jerusalem: When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of
the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the
midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. And the
LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her
assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by
night: for upon all the glory [shall be] a defence. And there shall be a
tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge,
and for a covert from storm and from rain.
[10]Revelation 17:5
And upon her forehead [was] a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE
MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
[11]Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of
her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of
her plagues.
[12]Matthew 12:30
He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me
scattereth abroad.
[13]James 4:10
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

If there is o­ne word in the Bible that modern day Christians can be said to discuss most but understand least, it is the word adultery as it pertains to marriage.

If I were a betting man, I'd bet that 99% of you cannot properly define the word adultery.

Here's a simple test:

If a married man has sexual intercourse with his single secretary, has he committed adultery?

If you answered yes then you don't know the definition of adultery.

The fact is that anyone who has sexual intercourse outside of marriage has indeed committed a sin (harlotry*) but if the woman involved is not a married woman then it is not called adultery.

It is impossible for a single woman to commit adultery.

Adultery refers to a specific kind of sexual sin; Sexual intercourse with another man's wife or a woman betrothed to another man.

That's it. Nothing else.

This is the definition provided by Strong's Exhaustive Concordance which is the concordance favored by theologians.

But even without the Strong's Concordance we can understand the definition of adultery by the dozens of verses referring to it in the Old Testament, the Bible that Jesus quoted.

The first reference to the word* adultery is found in the 7th commandment.

Thou shalt not commit adultery. Exodus 20:14

The second reference to adultery defines it and gives the penalty for it.

And the man that committeth adultery with [another] man's wife, [even he] that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.Leviticus 20:10

The verse above is word for word and bracket for bracket what is written in the King James Bible.

Every reference to adultery in the entire Bible concerns sexual intercourse between a married or betrothed woman and a man other than the o­ne to whom she is married or betrothed.

Solomon clarifies that adultery is a crime against men in Proverbs 6:32-35

But] whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he [that] doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away. For jealousy [is] the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.Proverbs 6:32-35

The Bible is gender specific when it comes to marriage. It does not use the word spouse except in the Song of Songs where in fact it is not gender neutral, it refers to the writer's bride and is translated in all other places in the Bible as daughter-in-law or bride.

The rights of women and the rights of men are very different in the Bible. Women have some rights that men don't have and men have some rights that women don't have.

We can now more easily understand Matthew 5:27&28, the verses that speak of "adultery in the heart," but there are two more words that we must define in order to fully understand it:

Lust: to desire something forbiddenRomans 7:7b - "for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet."

Woman: both the Hebrew word and the Greek word for woman can also be translated as wife.

Now that you know the meanings of the words let's go to the context.

Let's start with the first verses found in Matthew 5 that have a similar structure to the o­nes we're studying, namely, they begin with "Ye have heard" and are followed by "But I say unto you."

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Matthew 5:21&22

Notice that Jesus is referring to the 9th & 6th commandments:

Exd 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Exd 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.

Jesus shows here that there is a sequence of events that leads up to murder. First; unjustified anger, second; bearing false witness, and third; murder.

Jesus uses the same method to explain the steps that lead to adultery in Matthew 5:27&28

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh o­n a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.Matthew 5:27&28

Notice that he's referring to the 10th & 7th commandments:

Exd 20:17 ...thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife...

Exd 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Jesus shows here that there is a sequence of events that leads up to adultery. First; Looking upon another man's wife; second; lusting after her, third; committing adultery with her.

What is often not perceived by modern readers in our modern culture is that the admonition not to "looketh o­n a woman to lust after her" is an admonition not to break the 10th commandment; not to covet thy neighbor's wife because that will lead to adultery, the crime of having sexual intercourse with another man's wife.

In the two cases above, murder & adultery, Jesus explains the importance of not speaking ill of others and of not desiring forbidden things because doing so will lead to murder and adultery.

Jesus did not give a new command here to deny your sexuality. It is natural for men to desire women and for women to desire men otherwise nobody would ever get married. Properly directed sexual desire is God given, it is good. It shows that you're healthy.

Jesus words must be understood in the context of the meaning of each word as well as the context of each paragraph. A man or woman who has a strong sexual desire for the person they expect to marry or would like to marry is not sinning.

Here is Matthew 5:27&28 with the meanings of the words inserted for greater clarity:

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery [with thy neighbor's wife] but I say unto you, That whosoever looketh o­n a [married] woman to [covet] her hath committed adultery with [another man's wife] already in his heart.

Finally, I am saddened at the number of times that I have seen Kirk Cameron o­n his T.V. show, "Way of the Master" improperly training the Christian audience o­n how to witness to unbelievers. I wrote Kirk Cameron complaining about his sin and I was responded to by Judy Notchick who sent a copy of her response to S.G. Scott. The accusation has been made therefore, to the man, Kirk, and before two or three Witnesses, S.G. Scott & Judy Notchick. So now it's time to bring it before the Christian community.

Here is the sin that is repeated over and over again o­n Kirk Cameron's The Way of the Master Television show. With the T.V. cameras taping, Kirk or his sidekick Ray Comfort says to a woman:

"Jesus said, If you look with lust.You have already commited adultery in your heart.""Have you ever looked with lust?"The unsuspecting woman says, "Yes, of course."The average person o­n the street will think that the Bible meaning of the word lust is the same as the common English usage of the word, so they say yes. Yet the Bible's usage means to desire something forbidden. If the single woman is desiring the man she is hoping to marry someday then certainly she hasn't sinned. But Kirk or Ray continue without explanation."Then you've committed adultery in your heart. Do you know what the penalty for adultery is?"The unsuspecting woman says, "No."The response is, "Death."

This is supposed to lead people to Christ? It's disgusting. It's a lie first of all. Sexual desire does not equal lust. Lust is to desire something forbidden, to covet. The sin Jesus spoke of in Matthew 5:27&28 is to look upon a married woman with lust in your heart as you have learned in this study since the definition of "lust" is to desire something forbidden and the definition of "adultery" is sexual intercourse with another man's wife. In fact, it is impossible for a single woman to commit adultery!

THE PROBLEM with calling normal, healthy desires adultery is that it is a LIE!

Secondly, those who are not Christians will believe that it is impossible to be alive without continually committing adultery in the heart when in fact it is quite easy. Many men do live without committing adultery in the heart. They don't look at other men's wives with lust. They have the entire world of available women to look at. They don't need to look at other men's wives. Furthermore, non-Christians will believe that when they become Christians they'll be expected to pretend that they have no desires because Kirk and Ray have labeled most normal sexual desires, (as opposed to the forbidden sexual desire for another man's wife) adultery! Is it any wonder that young men are not to be found in the churches?

Yes, nearly everyone has committed some kind of sexual sin in their heart but let's at least get our definitions right. If we're going to be godly witnesses then we must tell the truth. Becoming a Christian does not mean that we are to pretend that we do not thirst for water. Why should we teach that it means that we do not desire the "bone of my bones" as Adam so poetically stated and as the pages of the Song of Songs so wonderfully describe?

Some of you may not have paid any attention to what I have just explained and are asking, "Then why didn't Jesus just say wife?" For you, I must say please please, read and understand. We have already discussed how the "Greek" attributed to Jesus in this passage was NOT the English word wife but a "Greek" word that can be translated both as wife and as woman. This Greek word, "gune", was translated in 92 other places in the New Testament as wife or wives. Had Jesus specifically defined woman in this context (lust) he would had to have said, "whosoever looketh o­n another man's wife or a woman betrothed to another man to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." That would have been redundant since He had already used the word "lust" which specifies a forbidden woman and adultery which specifies the type of forbidden woman; the wife of another man or a woman betrothed to another man. There is no Greek word used in the New Testament that always means wife and never means woman. Greek is not English. The o­ne word, gune, means either wife or woman but never means exclusively o­ne of those except as determined by the context.

Now your final test question:

If a married woman or a woman who is betrothed has sexual intercourse with with her administrative assistant, has she committed adultery?

If you said no then you still don't get it.

The definition of adultery is simple.

Sexual intercourse between a married or betrothed woman and any man other than her o­ne and o­nly.

Note: The word* adultery:Even though the first reference to the "word" adultery is found in Exodus 20:14God made reference to adultery as far back as Genesis 20:3

"But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou [art but] a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she [is] a man's wife." Genesis 20:3Notice again how adultery always involves another man's wife or the woman betrothed to him.

Many ministers refer to Rahab as a prostitute and wax eloquent with stories (made up) of what her life may have been like before Israel gave her protection. In fact, in the least inclusive sense of the word "harlot" she could have been a never married woman who was not a virgin; also known as a whore. For those of you who are shocked that I call a woman who has had sexual relations without the benefit of marriage a whore, get out your Bible and read it. You'll find that it is the Bible that calls women who have had sexual relations without the benefit of marriage fornicators and whores. Click Here - to read my article with the scriptural proof.

So if you're a whore or a man who fornicates by having relations with your whore (you probably call her your girlfriend) is there anything you can do? Yes, first recognize who you are. You're a fornicator. Second turn away from your wickedness and turn to the Lord.
If the woman was a virgin when you took her then you are commanded by Exodus
22:16 to make her your wife.

By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace. Hebrews 11:31

Turn to the God of Israel and be saved. Turn away from your sins. Rahab turned to God and her name now appears in the pages of the Bible! Yes, Rahab was a whore just like you may be but after she turned to God in faith she became a woman of faith. She even made it into the genealogy of Jesus.* If you think you are a woman or man of faith but are having sexual relations without the benefit of marriage then you are lying to yourself. You are not a woman or man of faith. You are a fornicating dog and will return to your vomit or a sweathog who will return to your filth.*

Isaiah 55:7"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."

*Matthew 1:5&6 And Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab; and Boaz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her [that had been the wife] of Uriah;

*2Peter 2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog [is] turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Note: If you're an unmarried woman in America you're probably a harlot, just like Rahab. To be unmarried and not be a virgin is to be a harlot unless you were raped and shouted out for help. Deuteronomy 22:23&24 explains how in order for a virgin to claim she was forced into having sexual intercourse that she must have been heard screaming in resistance. If the intercourse happened in an area where she could not have been heard screaming then her innocence is presumed.

If you have questions or comments concerning this article please
click here to send a message to Pastor Don.

My son, Josiah, poked his head in the door and said, "Johnny's saying a bad word."

"What bad word?" I said.

"He keeps saying 'Oh my God.' and he won't stop."

"Tell him to stop saying it or he has to go home."

"I did but he won't stop."

I leaned out the door and said to Johnny.

"Johnny, we don't say 'Oh my God' o­n this property. If you want to say that you'll have to go home. When you say 'Oh my God' you're making God into a tiny thing. God is not some tiny expression. He made the world."

Johnny came back later that day. My son, Josiah came in again saying, "Johnny's saying a bad word again."

"What's he saying this time?" I said.

Note: Some might think that I would quote "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain" in regards to using God's name as an expression, however that commandment refers to lying while under an oath taken in God's name. When you say "Oh my God" you're actually admitting a disbelief in God's presence in your life and you are reducing God to a tiny expression, not a personal Savior and the Creator of all things.

If you have questions or comments concerning this article please
click here to send a message to Pastor Don.

Gay Marriage or Same Sex Marriage is not marriage at all. It is easiest to explain this by explaining the basis for marriage. Marriage began with the removal of a rib from Adam. God formed Eve from that rib and ever since that day, man has naturally been drawn to his rib, to his Eve and that rib, that Eve, has been drawn back to her man, her Adam. Regardless of what attraction a person may feel toward another person, it is impossible for it to be that same attraction between the sexes that began with the removal of Adam's rib if that attraction is not for a member of the opposite sex. Men who are drawn to the false god of homosexuality must renounce this form of idolatry and turn to the Lord in repentance.

Note: If you're a homosexual and realize that you need treatment for this serious mental and spiritual disorder please visit the following site for more information:http://www.narth.com/docs/repair.html

If you have questions or comments concerning this article please
click here to send a message to Pastor Don.

If you were to ask the average man or woman on
the street to define Christian Marriage they'd likely give you a long list of
what it is not. In fact, their list would likely include most of the
Characteristics of Matriarchal Christian Marriage, the brand of religious marriage taught by the Western Church which frequently includes "mutual submission."

Then what is Christian Marriage?

Christian Marriage is marriage taught according to the Bible. Those who teach it usually refer to themselves as Patriarchal Christians. Patriarchal Christianity is one of the world's fastest growing denominations and its teachings are simple: Follow God's Word.

Why the name Patriarchal Christianity?

Because in the first centuries following Jesus' resurrection the Western Church began a series of false teachings about marriage which have continued to this day. Those teachings limit the rights of all believers and are in direct opposition to Jesus' teachings about marriage and our relationship to the Lord. Using the name Patriarchal Christianity is our way of making it clear that we are not going to put up with the false teachings of the Western Church, the Matriarchal Church, and we are going to clearly set the record straight on what Christian Marriage is and how understanding Christian Marriage helps us understand our Lord.

Why the emphasis on marriage?

Because the Lord has used the metaphor of marriage more frequently than any other metaphor in the Bible to describe His relationship with us. If we are to understand these metaphors then we must become experts on the Bible's teachings o­n marriage. Those teachings o­n marriage are not o­nly central to our faith but are central to all peoples' daily lives.

But hasn't the church taught this?

The Western Church hasn't taught this. That's our point. If you read Philip Schaff's History of the Christian Church you'll find less than 3 pages devoted to the topic of marriage. Keep in mind that Schaff's History of the Christian Church is a 7,120 page, that's 7,120 PAGE, multi-volume monumental work that describes Christianity from Jesus to the 19th century! It is five times the size of the Bible! However, it is not Philip Schaff's History of the Christian Church with which we have a problem, it is the behavior of those in the ministry that is out of step with the Bible. For they have dedicated so little to the study and teaching of marriage that only 3 pages of Philip Schaff's monumental history were required to describe their accomplishments concerning marriage!

So how much of the Bible concerns marriage?

The typical Bible is printed with enough words on each page so that it contains 1000 pages. This means that there is an average mention of a marriage related topic on every page of the Bible! That's every page! And we didn't even include the word man or woman in our search on this subject!

We're sure you can think of other marriage and fidelity search words than what we used. You'll find at the bottom of this page a list of all the words we were able to easily find and their number of occurrences.

Do the end times concern marriage?

Do you know the biblical definition of whore? If you don't, then you can't understand what the Lord means by the Great Whore of Babylon! Imagine, the most basic of end times prophecies cannot be understood without an understanding, an acceptance, of the Bible's definition of marriage.

It is clearly not possible to understand Christianity without living in accordance with the Biblical definitions of marriage, fornication, adultery, and divorce? The ministers of the Western Church refuse to do this. How few ministers know or teach that a woman cannot divorce her husband, ever!*

There are things God wants us to understand about Him through our own relationships and yet what was universally accepted and understood prior to the advent of the popes is no longer talked about in a polite society. It is not considered polite to mention the fact that God pronounced that for women, 'thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." It has therefore become nearly impossible to understand the Lord through the many metaphors of marriage which He has given us because most do not understand marriage.

Topics for Discussion

Can a single woman commit adultery? NO

Does sex outside of marriage make us impure? YES
[See important footnote for women who have lost their virginity and had no
other men since.]

What's the definition of adultery? Carnal knowledge between a married woman and a man who is not her husband. The Bible requests the state to impose the death penalty for the man and woman in such cases when there are two witnesses other than the defendants.

Can a woman divorce her husband? NO

Is comparing your husband unfavorably with other men fornication? YES

Can a man divorce his wife for fornication? YES

Should women cover their heads when they pray? YES

How can I find out how to be chaste? Read all about it here!

A marriage related topic is mentioned in over 1000 Bible verses. That computes to a o­ne to o­ne ratio of marriage related verses to pages in the Bible.

Search Term

Occurrences

Bible Verses

wife

396

360

wives

133

122

wife's

11

11

concubine

22

21

concubines

17

16

harlot

40

38

harlots

8

8

whoredom

22

22

whoredoms

32

26

husband

120

104

husbands

19

19

bride

14

14

bridegroom

23

20

betroth

4

3

betrothed

9

9

marry

22

19

marrieth

4

3

marriage

19

18

marriages

3

3

wedding

7

7

divorce

1

1

divorced

4

4

widow

50

49

widows

26

24

adultery

40

33

adulteries

5

5

fornication

36

32

fornications

3

3

prostitute
[meaning: cause to be defiled]

1

1

This is by no means an exhaustive list of verses concerning marriage. If you
were to do a search I'm sure you'd find even more verses.

FOOTNOTE: If you're a woman who has lost your
virginity to a man and have had no other men since, the Bible requires that man
to declare you to be his wife! Please consider Exodus 22:16 "And if a man entice
a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be
his wife."

Note: If you have questions or comments concerning this article please
click here to send a message to Pastor Don.

The flag, improperly used, can become an idolatrous image. Keep in mind that Christians are not even to pray to images of our Lord, how much more are we forbidden from pledging to an object that represents a country which certainly is not God. The Pledge of Allegiance must be rewritten so that it is not an idolatrous act. Christians should demand this. Not one of the Founding Fathers of the United States said the Pledge of Allegiance.

Note: Regardless of recent events, Pastor Don Milton insists that we cannot break the Ten Commandments in order to look patriotic. There is no excuse to pray to anyone other than God nor to pledge to anyone other than the Lord or those who follow him as a people or to pledge oneself to the ideals represented in God's word or those documents that are based on His word such as the U.S. Constitution. To do more is to commit idolatry.

If you have questions or comments concerning this article please
click here to send a message to Pastor Don.